Mick Malthouse has coached 406 wins in his 714 games at four clubs. He has proved a master coach, able to transfer the art of coaching from one club to the next. As he prepares to break the all-time games coached record on Friday night we select his 10 best wins (plus one for special mention) to demonstrate what made Malthouse a great coach. 

1. Round 4, Footscray 14.12 (96) v Hawthorn 7.13 (55), Western Oval, April 20, 1987 

Malthouse rates this as his favourite home and away victory and it's easy to see why. 

Footscray had lost the first three games, had a percentage of 41.1 percent and was taking on the powerful defending premiers Hawthorn who had a percentage of 169.43 percent. 

Brian Royal was moved to the middle and Footscray went on a tackling frenzy with the little known Angelo Petraglia making seven tackles to be one of his side's best. 

Sam Prenesti's words in The Age captured what would become hallmark of Malthouse's coaching: Few coaches seem to get the response and determination from their players for as long as Michael Malthouse did yesterday. 

After the game Malthouse gave an insight into his coaching philosophy.

"When you're not in the same class you have to make a contest. The only way to do it is to run individuals off individuals," Malthouse said.

"We realised that blooding a few kids and with players down we had to work with what we had … it's no use going around with long faces. You can't afford to operate like losers."

2. Grand Final, West Coast Eagles 16.17 (113) v Geelong 12.13 (85), MCG, September 26, 1992

Having lost the previous year's Grand Final to Hawthorn after an arduous finals series, West Coast went into the 1992 Grand Final with a massive opportunity to make history.

According to legend, Malthouse told his players not to accept food or drink during the Grand Final parade in case it was poisoned. His meticulous preparation, research into the opposition and will to build a club turned the Eagles into a juggernaut and this day was the first time they received reward. 

The Eagles had won seven of the previous eight games, had the week's rest before the Grand Final and beaten Geelong in their previous two encounters, including the second semi-final two weeks earlier.

However the nervous Eagles were slow out of the blocks, finally steadying just before half-time to go into the main break just two goals down. The break brought back memories of the previous season when they trailed Hawthorn by 10 points at half-time in the 1991 Grand Final only to lose by 53 points. Those within the Eagles inner sanctum looked at the players' faces and knew they weren't going to let that happen again. 

The Eagles came out firing in the third quarter to kick five goals to one with Peter Matera taking control of the game and continued on the job to become the first club outside Victoria to win a premiership. The 'defence-first' coach had led the Eagles to a flag with the club kicking more than 100 points in each of their three finals and only conceding 100 points to the opposition once in the season.  

The national competition had arrived.

3. Qualifying Final, Collingwood 16.12 (108) v Port Adelaide 14.11 (95) 6 September 2002

Collingwood had 'won' the wooden spoon just 66 games earlier but Malthouse led them into their first finals series for eight years.

The Magpies were massive underdogs as they had won just three of their previous eight games and then lost Nathan Buckley to injury ahead of the game but they put in a Malthouse-inspired performance in a Friday night classic.

With the tactic to play one-on-one, Paul Licuria took on brilliant Port Adelaide midfielder Josh Francou and destroyed him. 

Licuria had 40 touches to be best on ground and Ben Johnson laid the tackle of the decade (in Collingwood supporters' eyes) when he dragged down Peter Burgoyne in the goalsquare as he tried to play on after marking. 

Leon Davis perfected his finger wave when he kicked the sealer and the massive upset launched Collingwood's love affair with Malthouse. 

4. Grand Final, Collingwood 9.12 (66) v Brisbane Lions 10.15 (75), September 27, 2002 

Anthony Rocca starred. Nathan Buckley won the Norm Smith medal – although the Lions' Michael Voss could just as easily won it – and when the Magpies hit the front in the last quarter, Collingwood fans began to believe the previously unbelievable, that a miraculous victory might occur.

The tone was set when Ben Johnson ran down Jason Akermanis early and the relentless pressure continued with Collingwood laying 73 tackles, a Grand Final record to that point.

Unfortunately for Magpie fans a free kick to Alastair Lynch, and some brilliance from Voss and Akermanis was enough to get the Lions across the line. The effort was gallant and the sight of Malthouse with his arm around Licuria as both burst into tears post-game became a defining image of the coach and player relationship (and the subject of some ribbing over the years).

Paul Licuria and Mick Malthouse in tears after the Grand Final loss. Picture: AFL Media

5. Grand Final, West Coast Eagles 20.23 (143) v Geelong 8.15 (63), October 1, 1994

"Never forget what it took to get here," Malthouse told the club after the game. The Eagles had returned to the premiership dais after a dominant season, their massive pressure eventually causing Geelong to snap after half-time. Before it was known as forward pressure, the Eagles applied exactly that to the haunted Cats in the second quarter as they battled forlornly to clear their defence. Glen Jakovich and Dean Kemp were brilliant performers and the Eagles had overcome doubt and travel to be premiers for a second time.  

6. 2010 Grand Final Draw Collingwood 9.14 (68) v St Kilda (10.8 (68) MCG September 25 and Replay Collingwood 16.12 (108) v St Kilda 7.10 (52), MCG October 2 

Inspired performances from St Kilda's Brendon Goddard and Lenny Hayes almost won the game for the Saints but a lucky bounce saved Collingwood and gave them another crack the next week.  After the draw Malthouse consulted with trusted fitness coach David Buttifant and they decided the players should attend the post-match function. By the end of that night after hearing Malthouse speak and spending time with family and friends the players were refreshed and ready once again for battle. A strong first half in the replay including Heath Shaw's famous smother that denied Nick Riewoldt a goal saw the Magpies 27 points in front at half-time but the previous week's memories remained strong. As the team left at half-time Malthouse decided on a whim to ask midfielder Dane Swan to take on Goddard who had already had 19 disposals to that point. Swan restricted Goddard to 10 touches in the second half and grabbed 19 himself to lead the Pies to a memorable victory.

7. Round nine 2009 Collingwood 12.16 (88) v West Coast Eagles 9.12 (66), Subiaco Oval, May 23

Coaching a team considered a premiership chance pre-season with just three wins from the first eight games and destroyed by injury (Dale Thomas, Alan Didak, Anthony Rocca, Ben Johnson and Paul Medhurst were all missing) the Pies travelled to Perth with no-one giving them a chance. Out of contract at the end of the year and with an impatient board making a decision on his future, Malthouse was under pressure. Not that he showed it. His coaching during the week and during the game was first class. His message to the players was this: "It's amazing the little things you can do on the football field to help your teammates" and this "We select you because we believe in you. You have to believe in us". In the box he was calm, measured and coaxed the team to an unlikely win that began a streak of wins that took them into the top four that season. From that point until the end of his time at Collingwood, Malthouse won 58, lost 11 and drew two games for one premiership.

8. Round one, 1984, Footscray 18.14 (122) v Richmond 11.17 (83), Western Oval, March 31 

Malthouse won his first game as coach when full forward Simon Beasley kicked 11 goals to lead the team to victory against Richmond. It is one of just six times a Malthouse-coached player has kicked 10 goals or more in a game (Beasley four times, Peter Sumich twice at West Coast). In typical Malthouse style the team was his focus post match. He pointed to the word 'persistence' written on a board in the rooms and told reporters: "That is the reason for our success. We persisted and it paid off." 

9. Preliminary Final, Collingwood 18.12 (120) v Geelong 11.13 (79) MCG September 17 2010

The Cats had confounded Malthouse as he tried to find an answer to their zig-zag run and handball. Eventually he solved the riddle with a formation that closed the ground down boxing the opposition in to a tight space, denying them time, space and an option as Magpie players ferociously attacked the ball carrier and the receiver. Geelong retreated under the most incredible forward pressure seen to that point. Sixty-two points behind at half-time, beaten up and defeated. The Collingwood chant that arose late in the game made the hairs on the back of Malthouse's neck stand up. The Magpies were in the Grand Final.

The Magpies celebrate after their big win over the Cats. Picture: AFL Media

10. Round 10, West Coast 16.17 (113) v Western Bulldogs 15.10 (100), WACA, May 29, 1998

Top of the table Western Bulldogs led by eight goals to zero at quarter-time after dismantling the Eagles under lights. The Eagles had been battling to that point but had got their season back on track after two wins took them to four wins for the season. Malthouse walked out at quarter-time and threw Jason Ball into the ruck. The game turned immediately as Ben Cousins kicked a goal soon after the break to begin a run of eight unanswered goals in the quarter. The Eagles took a one-point lead into half-time and eventually won the game by 13 points. The Eagles finished the season seventh, ahead of ninth placed Richmond on percentage to keep Malthouse's string of finals appearances unbroken at the Eagles. 

*NOT TO BE OVERLOOKED
Sandringham Basketball Flag 1980 (Unknown location)

Before the 1980 footy season began Malthouse coached some Tiger teammates to a basketball premiership in Sandringham. He sat with his leg in plaster and called the substitutions. Michael Roach played and laughed a few years back when reminded of the basketball team: "We didn’t have a lot of discipline."

Special mentions 

Footscray v North Melbourne 1985 1^st Semi-Final (win)
First finals win at Footscray since 1961 preliminary final 

Footscray v Hawthorn 1985 Preliminary final (loss)
Recovered from 93-point thrashing by same opponent to lose by just 10 points in tight contest 

West Coast Eagles v Collingwood 1990 Qualifying Final (Draw)
Underdogs could have beaten eventual premiers except for Peter Sumich point in Malthouse's first season as Eagles coach. 

West Coast Eagles v Geelong, 1991 preliminary final (win)
Eagles into first Grand Final in second season as Eagles coach. 

Collingwood v Brisbane Lions 2003 Qualifying Final (win)
Alan Didak goal from boundary as Collingwood overcomes three-quarter time deficit to beat Eagles. 

Collingwood v Geelong 2007 preliminary final (loss)
Underdogs with second string ruckman push dominant Cats with only Joel Corey smother and Gary Ablett goal from stoppage halting the Pies.