CTV > Watch Mick Malthouse's Wednesday press conference

COLLINGWOOD coach Mick Malthouse will enter his side's first major blockbuster for season 2008 with renewed confidence in his young players, after several of them stood up in last year's finals campaign.

Malthouse, who has previously expressed his admiration of players that can perform on the "big stage", will face Carlton this Sunday at the MCG in front of an estimated crowd of 80,000 with a side he knows can cope with a high-pressure atmosphere.

"There's no question about [the value of] finals football," he said, on Wednesday at the annual Peter Mac Breakfast at Federation Square.

"I don't want to put too much emphasis on my structure of how I think about coaching, but players can play all they like between rounds one and 22 and play well.

"But, when you put them in finals football, if a player can hold up, he's already got the first tick in selection.

"The players that played last year would benefit enormously from playing in finals footy. Added to that, there's the Anzac Day game, there's the Queen's Birthday weekend, there's the blockbusters.

"You've got to be able to hold up on the big stage, and it's one of the things we like to think we can teach our players, is to be accustomed to being able to play in those games.

"When they prove they can do it, they get selected."

Malthouse said he hasn't been surprised with the performance of such players this season, or the emergence of Magpies such as Nathan Brown and John Anthony.

"We take it on a week-to-week basis. We know also that it's a half-marathon of 20 plus weeks, and if you look further, it's probably a full marathon of 40 odd weeks that you prepare yourself for," he said.

"It's not a sprint, so we know that some players are playing some pretty good football, and we also know that there are a few players that need additional games playing for our seconds or who need to be supported during the senior games.

"Some players have got touch and other players don't. That's just the way it is. We knew that when we had three players retire at the end of last season with a collective 10 Copeland Trophies that the onus was going to be placed fair and square on some of the younger players coming through.

"We're not going to shy from playing kids, and we haven't done that."

He also said he won't be afraid to try Brown, who has so far stood Matthew Pavlich, Jonathan Brown and Matthew Richardson, on Carlton forward Brendan Fevola, who booted eight goals last week against Essendon.

"He's a key back and Fevola's a key forward. I'm not going to hide players; if they're good enough to play, they're good enough to play," he said.

"I don't go for easing players in, I don't go for soft options. If the player matches up, he's plays on that player."

Malthouse said he was unconcerned the Pies' round-three clash with Richmond was scheduled during the themed Rivalry Round, despite the club being set to meet an even bigger adversary this weekend.

"We don't choose the terminology of what round: all we worry about is who we play on that given day," he said.

"It's Carlton this week, it was Richmond last week, and it has no bearing on us. We just try to go out there to win every game.

"The history has little relevance in regard to how we conduct our week. Playing Carlton is different to playing Richmond, and it will be different when we play North Melbourne next week.

"We structure our training and our thought process on our direct opponent."