WEST Coast fans could hardly be happier with their barnstorming season start, handing coach Adam Simpson a whopping 99.7 per cent approval rating after seven rounds.

Simmo's rating is the highest of all AFL coaches as fans had their say on their team's coach in an AFL.com.au survey.

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North Melbourne's surprise resurgence has seen Brad Scott's approval leap to 94 per cent, up from 52 per cent at the end of last season.

Nathan Buckley has also emphatically rebuilt his standing with Magpie fans.

Having steered Collingwood to a 4-3 start, Buckley was reporter Jen Phelan's nomination for coach of the year so far in this week's Burning Question, which you can watch above.

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88 per cent of Pie fans say they are happy with Bucks' performance, up from the 52 per cent who backed him after his two-year contract extension in September last year.

Here are the full survey results.

12 months is a long time in football

It was not even a year ago that Bomber coach John Worsfold was riding high with a league-leading 99 per cent approval rating.

When fans had their say in AFL.com.au's 2017 mid-season survey, the Dons were showing the form that would carry them to last year's finals series.

This time around, Woosha has felt the brunt of supporters' frustration with Essendon's 2-5 start. Just 24 per cent of Bomber fans are happy with his performance.

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John Worsfold has suffered the biggest drop in approval of any AFL coach. Picture: AFL Media



While Worsfold's approval has suffered the steepest year-on-year decline of any AFL coach, struggling Saints coach Alan Richardson has the lowest level of fan support at just 17 per cent.

Leon Cameron is another suddenly feeling the heat.

Cameron's year-on-year approval rating from Giants fans has plunged 37 percentage points, though the drop is perhaps accentuated by the timing of this week's survey, coming four days after GWS's damaging loss against Geelong.

Timing may also have been unkind to Port Adelaide's Ken Hinkley. He has the backing of just 43 per cent of Power fans in the wake of Saturday's 42-point loss to the Eagles.

Coaches to have rebuilt their popularity include Adelaide's Don Pyke (up eight percentage points since September) and Geelong's Chris Scott (up 13 percentage points).

Remarkably, 12 months ago West Coast's Simpson had the League's second-worst approval rating, narrowly ahead of the soon-to-be-sacked Rodney Eade.

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Here is how every coach's approval has changed over the past three AFL.com.au surveys. You can click or tap to toggle off the other teams and take a closer look at your coach's rating.

A slowing merry-go-round?

Eade's exit from Gold Coast was last season's only senior coaching change, making 2017 the most stable year on the coaching front since 2008.

In fact the trend across the past three years is towards clubs keeping faith in their coaches.

From 2015-17 there were only five senior coach changes, following nine in the previous two seasons.