North Albury maintains it can shake the wooden spoon this year

Defender Tom Sharp concedes it will be extremely difficult to win at home against flag contenders Yarrawonga on Saturday, before facing Wangaratta Rovers, who are out of form heading into round 16, and eighth-placed Wodonga.

"Definitely, we still have a belief that we can win a game before the end of the year," he said.

Yarrawonga hammered the Hoppers by 124 points in round seven as Leigh Williams nailed a career-high 15 goals.

North fell to bottom when pipped by Wodonga Raiders on July 23 and trail on percentage.

"We want to remain competitive and be hard to play against," Sharp offered.

"We also want to follow structures and try to implement those."

North's hopes of scoring the upset of the season haven't been helped with the return of Pigeons' ruck Lach Howe, who hasn't played in a month.

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However, Willie Wheeler will miss a second game.

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