The AFL top eight is in a vice-like squeeze - no-one at the top can break clear and the charge is on from below.

Top side Port Adelaide, second-placed West Coast and premier Brisbane (third) all lost over this weekend.

Hawthorn and Essendon lie just outside the eight after their round-14 wins and are on a roll.

The Hawks only had three wins after round 10 and lay 13th, two and a half wins away from eighth.

Four wins later, they are not only half a game behind the eighth-placed Kangaroos but just two wins off fourth spot.

They and the Bombers have seven wins apiece and both sides' away matches next weekend will be season-shaping.

Hawthorn will play Brisbane next Sunday at the `Gabba, with the Lions having lost three of their last four.

Essendon, which has not won outside Victoria this season, plays the fourth-placed Crows on Friday at AAMI Stadium.

Sunday's three matches capped a topsy-turvy round which featured a heart-stopping upset, beltings and a grieving son's courage.

Lowly Geelong scored the big upset, with Ben Graham's 60m goal in the last minute ending Port's six-game winning streak, 10.10 (70) to 10.9 (69).

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