Waite booted two goals and took a game-high 10 marks during the Blues' 61-point win over Melbourne on Sunday, his first game of the season after recovering from a calf injury.
Malthouse praised the performance, but warned his other players not to be too taken with the 30-year-old's strong presence when looking for forward targets.
"He (Waite) is a player that clearly gives a bit of direction," Malthouse said post-match.
"I reckon early we were a bit over-conscious of him, and we kicked the football to him when he wasn't in the best position.
"Him not being there in the first five or six weeks meant that we were a bit less predictable.
"I don't want to become over-predictable by just saying, 'Jarrad Waite's there'.
"He can take a mark, but we want other players to take marks, we want other players to find space, and we want to use the right option.
"He was clearly a very good footballer for us today."
Waite said his body felt good during the match, and was pleased with his performance.
"I've been training pretty hard over the past month, just trying to get that touch back, because previously when I've come back I've taken a few games to get into it," he said.
The key forward said he was confident his injury-prone body, which restricted him to just 12 games in 2011 and 11 in 2012, could now hold up for the remainder of the season.
"It's all about my rehab and injury prevention now," he said.
"As long as I'm top of everything, I should be fine."
Malthouse said the Blues were gradually improving after letting games slip early in the season due to mental lapses.
"I think we're making gains mentally, to stay attuned to what's around us for longer, and when things aren't going right, we're able to recognise it and do something about it," he said.
"It's a mindset to get things crystal clear as quick as we can so we don't run into a seven or eight minute patch where we lose ground and have three or four goals kicked against us."
Chris Yarran was subbed out of the match early in the third quarter, but Malthouse said the small forward did not have an injury issue – merely some minor back and hamstring tightness.
The Blues now sit even on the win-loss ledger with three wins and three losses after a difficult opening to the season.
They have games against St Kilda, Port Adelaide in Melbourne, the Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney to come in the next month.
"We've been under real pressure for five weeks," Malthouse said.
"The sides we've played are all very good football sides.
"So coming in against a side that's won one game, not having a crack at Melbourne, but…we needed to do a few things slightly differently today, and I thought by and large we did.
"If you said 10 goals at the beginning of the game, I would take that without running down the race every day of the week."
