Photo: aflphotos.com.au
Mick Malthouse crossed from Footscray to coach West Coast in 1990, leading the club to its first two flags and finals appearances in each of his 10 seasons in charge before returning to Victoria.
Playing career[]
A gritty defender, Malthouse made his debut for St Kilda in 1972 and played 53 games for the Saints before crossing to Richmond during the 1976 season. He played 121 games with Richmond, including the 1980 premiership, before retiring in 1983.
Coaching career[]
Malthouse stepped straight into the senior coaching role at Footscray for 1984, leading the Bulldogs to a preliminary final in his second season. He coached at Footscray for six seasons before being enticed west to take the senior job at West Coast.
Under his stewardship, West Coast won a final for the first time in 1990 and made the preliminary final that year. Along the way Malthouse showed he was unafraid to make big calls, dropping captain Steve Malaxos during the finals series.
The following year the Eagles finished as minor premiers after winning 19 games over the regular season, qualifying for the grand final for the first time in the club's history but ultimately falling to a vastly more experienced Hawthorn outfit. In 1992 West Coast started slowly but found momentum in the finals, going on to win the flag against Geelong. The club repeated its premiership success in 1994, and made the finals every season until Malthouse's final year in charge in 1999. In a repeat of the Malaxos incident, during the 1998 finals Malthouse left premiership captain John Worsfold out of the side despite the player's insistence that he was able to overcome a knee injury.
In the lead-up to the 1999 finals Malthouse announced that he and his family were returning to Melbourne. Shortly after his departure Malthouse was unveiled as the new coach of Collingwood. He coached the Magpies for 12 seasons, leading the side to Grand Finals in 2002 and 2003 before finally breaking through for a premiership in 2010. After another losing Grand Final in 2011 he stepped aside for Nathan Buckley under a prearranged succession plan.
Malthouse spent 2012 in the media before being given a fourth senior coaching position, this time at Carlton.
Awards and achievements[]
Premiership medal in 1980 as a player (with Richmond)
Premiership medals in 1992 and 1994 as coach (with West Coast)
Premiership medal in 2010 as coach (with Collingwood)