Twelve months ago, in his victorious post-match press conference, Malthouse gave a fascinating insight into the game plan he had designed to underpin Collingwood's 2010 premiership.
Inspired by the Roman Legion and German war figure Erwin Rommel, Malthouse's 'box formation' and forward press was decisive in winning the Magpies' first flag in 20 years, but the coach knew it would be beaten one day.
"Nothing is safe, nothing stands still," Malthouse said last year when he was atop the football world. "This game will succumb at some stage."
That point came on Saturday afternoon at the MCG in a glorious Grand Final, with the mighty Geelong stamping itself as one of the modern era's great teams.
The club's rookie premiership coach Scott has given his team a defensive edge that was lagging behind modern trendsetting clubs, but his methods behind Saturday's triumph weren't ground-breaking.
Indeed, if you were to be granted a seat in the Geelong coach's box or mid-week meeting rooms, Scott says you would be "a little bit disappointed with how simple the messages were".
"We stripped it back to really simple footy," he said. "Under-age stuff really. The team that wins the most contests wins this game."
On Saturday afternoon Geelong won more contests than Collingwood, and it won its third premiership in five years as a result.
The challenge was laid out to the Cats early in the second quarter when all the contests were falling Collingwood's way.
Andrew Krakouer spun out of a stoppage to snap his second goal on his left foot, and Travis Cloke took a strong contested mark on opponent Harry Taylor, converting from long range for the third time.
The powerful forward was threatening to turn this match and, when the Magpies moved three goals clear, the Collingwood army sensed a decisive move and launched into its haunting chant.
Tom Lonergan is a player who won his share of contests on Saturday. Shifted onto Cloke when Taylor was taken from the ground after a knock to the head early in the second quarter, he conceded just one mark to his opponent and became one of the stories of the Grand Final.
Tom Hawkins was another great story on Saturday, but all three of his goals were made possible by teammates committed to winning any contest they were involved in.
Three minutes into the third term the young forward kicked his first goal, getting a toe to the ball in the goalsquare. Paving the way was Jimmy Bartel, locked in a marking contest with Heath Shaw and making certain the ball was brought to ground.
Bartel kicked three brilliant goals and had 26 possessions to win the Norm Smith Medal, but these efforts punctuated his game.
Hawkins kicked the Cats' next goal, from a set shot at the 12-minute mark, and it was Andrew Mackie this time who made the decisive play.
The half-back was faced with a crucial one-on-one contest with Brownlow medallist Dane Swan, the two combatants charging at a loose ball in the centre square.
It was a contest Mackie appeared to want to win more, and he did, getting the ball to Paul Chapman, who bombed the ball long for Hawkins to mark.
The Cats had owned the contested ball on Saturday, but that 'win' from Mackie stood out at a crucial junction in the game. Geelong players recognised its importance and looked for the 27-year-old after the goal, but he had run to the interchange bench.
Finally it was ruckman Brad Ottens' turn to play his part in Hawkins' game-changing quarter, knocking a contested ball into his teammate's path for another goal kicked off the ground.
Geelong's ascendency when the ball was in dispute appeared to wear Collingwood down.
The Pies were forced to tackle and chase at a rate that was simply unsustainable, and late in the third quarter they began to hunch over at every opportunity, their hands pressed on their hips.
At three-quarter time, captain Nick Maxwell pleaded for one last effort, repeatedly motioning towards his outgoing coach. They wouldn't kick another goal, conceding five.
Scott's insistence that the game would be won by the team that won more individual battles was evident on the stats sheet, the Cats winning the contested possessions (184-154) and taking 10 more contested marks (Hawkins took seven).
Geelong has now won 105 of its last 121 games, and its last three against Collingwood, an emphatic statement that it has been the best team of not only this season, but the past five.
"To win the number of games that Geelong's won over the last five or six years, three premierships seems about right," Scott said.
"I think it's good reward for being such a good side for a long period of time."
