Josh Kennedy has been recognised for his outstanding season with a stamp of approval from the AFL's senior coaches, who have voted him the game's best forward.
Kennedy, who earned a vote from 10 coaches, got the nod ahead of Hawthorn's Jarryd Roughead (four votes) and Sydney Swans star Lance Franklin (two).
The West coast Eagles spearhead currently sits atop the Coleman Medal table with 62 goals for the season.
Other Eagles players featuring in the coaches votes were Nic Naitanui, who received two votes as the game’s best ruckman. Todd Goldstein was the clear winner with nine votes.
Young defender Jeremy McGovern received a vote as the game’s best defender, but was well short of Richmond’s Alex Rance with nine.
When asked what types of players the coaches thought were the most valuable, they were split on inside midfielders and goalkicking forwards (both 31.25 per cent).
Key defenders and outside midfielders attracted only six per cent of the vote each.
The skills that needed improving most were goalkicking (43.75 per cent) and field kicking (37.5 per cent), while no coaches were concerned about marking, applying pressure and spoiling.
When asked if they were happy with players kicking on the outside of their preferred foot, rather than using their opposite foot, the majority of coaches said players should enter the system with skills on both feet.
The majority (56.25 per cent) believed the draft age should be higher, with only one coach believing it should be lower. The rest were happy with the status quo.
Coaches were split on the scrutiny and demands facing new draftees, with 56.25 per cent believing players fresh to the game were under too much pressure.
They were almost unanimous on free agency, believing it was not evening up the competition (81.25 per cent) and yet to extend careers (87.5 per cent).
They still believed compensation was necessary when a club lost a free agent (81.25 per cent).
The biggest threat to player welfare, the coaches said, was gambling (43.75 per cent), with idle time (25 per cent), lack of direction (18.75 per cent) and recreational drugs (12.5 per cent) the other concerns.
