The Magpie defender left the ground bloodied and concussed after the head clash, but the Match Review Panel surprised most observers with its ruling that the contact was accidental and that Thomas had no case to answer.
Ten of the 18 AFL coaches said they believed Thomas should have been suspended.
Comparisons with the Thomas-Reid incident were drawn after round seven when Geelong's James Kelly was suspended for two matches for making head high contact with Essendon's Brendon Goddard.
This time around, 11 coaches said they agreed with the MRP's findings.
It should be noted that the coaches were also asked what changes they'd like to make to the Match Review Panel system, but so wary are the coaches for being seen to criticize the system that even under the cloak of anonymity, they chose not to offer any suggestions.
The 2013 AFL coaches survey was a joint initiative between AFL Media and the AFL Coaches Association.
