FIRST-YEAR coach Brenton Sanderson has not only turned the Crows into a top-four contender, he has impressed his colleagues.
In a survey of all 18 AFL senior coaches conducted by AFL Media and the AFL Coaches Association, nine nominated Sanderson as the coach of the year at the mid-point of the season.
It seems Adelaide's new-found attack on the football - and the rise of Kurt Tippett and Taylor Walker as one of the premier forward combinations in the competition - has tongues wagging.
Heading into round 15, the Crows have a 10-3 record and are in fifth place. They have already won three more games than last year, a 7-15 season that ended the six-year tenure of Neil Craig as senior coach. They also won the premiership in the pre-season competition.
Sydney Swans coach John Longmire attracted four votes, West Coast's John Worsfold and Nathan Buckley attracted two votes each, while Essendon's James Hird received one vote.
Sanderson's relaxed demeanour suggests that his peers believe he has a good handle on one of the most relentless jobs in Australian sport.
As part of the survey, the coaches were asked what the most demanding part of their job was - and what aspect they would most like to change - with 10 of the 18 saying that time pressure and time management was what caused the most aggravation.
Media pressure, and servicing the media, was considered overly aggravating by four coaches and three coaches said public scrutiny was a problem.
The coaches were also asked whether the AFL takes the views of the coaches into consideration with respect to how the game is played.
Half of the coaches answered no, while seven said yes, but claimed the coaches are seen to have a different agenda to the AFL.
It was an interesting call by the coaches, who met with the AFL as a group in Sydney in March ahead of the AFL season launch and then sent a delegation of six coaches - Alastair Clarkson, Ross Lyon, Damien Hardwick, John Longmire, James Hird and Brett Ratten - to a meeting with the AFL's football operations manager, Adrian Anderson and some of his key staffers last month.
Get your copy of this week's AFL Record to see how the coaches responded to every question in the 2012 AFL Media/AFLCA Coaches Survey
You can follow AFL Media senior writer Ashley Browne on Twitter @afl_hashbrowne
