Todd Goldstein's excellent 2015 season has been recognised by the league's coaches, voted the best ruckman in the competition.

In an exclusive survey for AFL.com.au and the AFL Record, Goldstein received nine votes to lead his category.

The Roo is set to break the all-time hit-out record for a season, needing to average just over 34 per game in the last four to sail past Gary Dempsey's 952.

Dempsey set the record in 1982 while playing for North, and he had the benefit of playing 24 games for the season; the Kangaroos made the semi final before being eliminated by Hawthorn.

West Coast's Nic Naitanui (two) and Docker Aaron Sandilands (three) also earned multiple votes.

Elsewhere in the survey, Richmond defender Alex Rance has been overwhelmingly voted in as the game's best defender.

With nine votes, he was one of only two players to earn multiple votes, ahead of Harry Taylor (two), with Jeremy McGovern and Easton Wood among the players to earn one vote each.

There were standout players in every category, with Fremantle midfielder Nat Fyfe (nine) and West Coast forward Josh Kennedy (10) also recognised as the best in their position. 

Fyfe overtook Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett (three votes), with Collingwood star Scott Pendlebury earning two votes.

Kennedy got the nod ahead of Hawthorn's Jarryd Roughead (four votes) and Sydney Swans star Lance Franklin (two).

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.

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.