Port Adelaide have capped a stunning round of AFL upsets with their 42-point loss to Fremantle keeping eighth spot wide open.

Port have not won two consecutive games since round four and they maintained their rollercoaster form with the 17.14 (116) to 11.8 (74) disaster on Sunday at Subiaco against the second-bottom Dockers.

Suddenly, even Sydney's season remains alive, with 11 wins possibly enough to make the finals.

The upset losses to Port and Hawthorn and Essendon's draw begs the question - which of these contenders for eighth spot can muster any sort of form in the last three rounds of the regular season?

Sydney marked Michael O'Loughlin's 300-game milestone on Sunday with a 55-point belting of Richmond at the MCG.

The 18.15 (123) to 10.8 (68) win elevated them to 10th spot on the ladder, one ahead of the Hawks and only one game behind the eighth-placed Power.

Essendon are half a game behind the Power in ninth after they scored 13.9 (87) to Brisbane's 12.15 (87) in the Saturday night draw at the MCG.

Lions key forward Daniel Bradshaw tied the scores with his goal, the third consecutive weekend that a kick after the siren has decided a match at the MCG.

It was that sort of weekend as the Western Bulldogs suffered one of the upset losses of the year, undermanned St Kilda somehow won and Geelong's late-season wobbles continued.

On Saturday, the Bulldogs were overwhelming favourites against West Coast at Etihad Stadium, but they opened the game with 11-straight behinds.

After they stormed back into the game, the gutsy Eagles held on by five points for a rare away win, 16.6 (102) to 13.19 (97).

The Bulldogs maintain fourth spot by half a game and Brisbane, who are fifth, will host them in a massive clash this Saturday night.

Rodney Eade's team have a worrying habit of finishing the regular season poorly. Last year, the Bulldogs won only two of their seven games before the finals.

Also on Saturday, the Hawks were favoured to end St Kilda's winning streak because the Saints had rested seven players for the Launceston trip, including most of their stars.

But the Saints laid a record 114 tackles and won by 25 points, 10.14 (74) to 7.7 (49), emphasising the Hawks' inability to consistently gel during their premiership defence.

The round opened with Friday night's 35-point win for Carlton over the Cats at the MCG, 14.13 (97) to 8.14 (62), a result that should secure the Blues their first finals berth since 2001.

The Cats will keep second place for the finals, but they are showing strong signs of battle fatigue after nearly three years as the league's pacesetters.

On Saturday night, Collingwood continued their impressive form on the road and beat Adelaide by 21 points.

The 13.11 (89) to 9.14 (68) win meant the Magpies moved up from fourth spot to third at the Bulldogs' expense.

While North Melbourne are well out of the finals race, Sunday's 62-point belting of bottom side Melbourne was an important day for the club.

The 19.9 (123) to 8.13 (61) result was the first win for caretaker coach Darren Crocker since he took over in round 13, while the Kangaroos had not won since round nine.

Fremantle's win means only the Demons, with three wins, remain eligible this year for a priority draft pick.

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