West Coast clearance king Matt Priddis predicts the midfield battle will hold the key to victory in Sunday’s AFL elimination final against North Melbourne at Patersons Stadium.

With both sides boasting formidable forward set-ups, the clearance count could well shape the outcome of the winner-takes-all clash.

In the Roos’ corner stands the lightning quick Daniel Wells, the goal-hungry Brent Harvey, the in-and-under Andrew Swallow and the hard-as-nails Jack Ziebell.

West Coast boasts Priddis, the handball-happy Daniel Kerr, the free-wheeling Andrew Gaff, the ever-dangerous Luke Shuey and a flying Fijian by the name of Nic Naitanui.

Priddis said West Coast’s on-ball division needed to work hard in order to give forwards Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling and company ample opportunities to kick a winning score.

“I think it’s a real key that every side wants to win,” Priddis said of the stoppages.

“You can get some really good field position from clearances.

“It’s not the be all and end all but it’s a big bearing on the result of the game.

“They’ve got a really good mix in their midfield.

“They’ve got some really good contested ball-winners in Ziebell and Swallow, and then they’ve got the guys on the outside like Wells and Harvey. So it really does stand to be a great game.

“Wells is a fantastic player and he has been for a long time. He’s got great speed, he uses the ball really well and he’s a really key player for them.”

The temperature for Perth on Sunday is tipped to reach 27 degrees, but Eagles skipper Darren Glass was confident West Coast would run out the game well no matter what the conditions.

“This group is really resilient and I’m confident we’ve got a team that can run games out really strongly and won’t lie down,” Glass said.