SUSPENDED players should be eligible to win the Brownlow Medal under the new Match Review Panel guidelines, according to the majority of senior coaches.

The revamped MRP has this year given players three strikes before they are suspended for minor offences, such as a low-impact strike to the body, meaning there are fewer ineligible players.

But in an exclusive survey for AFL.com.au and the AFL Record, 56.25 per cent of the League's coaches believe suspended players should be able to win the AFL's 'fairest and best' award.

Twice in the award's history ineligible players – Corey McKernan (1996) and Chris Grant (1997) – have polled the most votes. 

The coaches support the new MRP system, which was revamped by the AFL’s football operations general manager Mark Evans ahead of the 2015 season, with 56.25 of coaches saying it is better than the previous incarnation, which included carryover points. 

Only 12.5 per cent of coaches said it was a step backwards, with 31.25 per cent saying it was the same.

The coaches were less forgiving of the umpires, however, with 75 per cent declaring it was either worse this season or had not improved. 

As debate continues about the state of the game, a majority of coaches (68.75 per cent) believed matches should be shortened with quarters creeping out by an extra two minutes this season.

The AFL Commission is set to hear submissions on the length of games before the end of the season.

The Western Bulldogs have been the team that has most surprised the coaches, with St Kilda and West Coast also earning recognition in this category.

Hawthorn was the overwhelming favourite to win the premiership, with 75 per cent of the vote.

The survey was conducted in conjunction with the AFL Coaches’ Association. Not all coaches answered every question. The full survey results will be published in the round 20 edition of the AFL Record, which is available at all grounds.