Mick Malthouse says new Magpie Paul Medhurst did something last Friday night that will leave his team mates in no doubt as to his desire and commitment to perform for Collingwood.

With nine minutes remaining in the third term and with the Magpies leading by a solitary point, a hurried Dale Thomas kick was trickling towards goal in the Collingwood forward pocket when Medhurst made a decision to attack the footy and risk considerable contact with Docker defender Roger Hayden.

It proved to be a crucial 50-50 contest, with Medhurst putting his body squarely on the line, and while taking the full force of Hayden’s contact he cleanly gathered the ball and inspirationally fired a handpass to a running Alan Didak.

The Didak finish put the Magpies up by seven points and you could sense Collingwood was getting right on top.

“It said nothing to me but a lot for his team mates, a hell of a lot for his team mates,” Malthouse said of Medhurst’s actions.

“There’s a word called respect and we talk about it a lot, but to really get the ultimate respect with your team mates, sometimes you have to do that sort of stuff.

“It’s instinct, your time comes up, you have to make a decision, you’re called upon, and you make the decision. You know you’re going to get a decent crack, and you take that option.

“All players are faced with that, a split second think ‘I know what’s going to happen here’, and he took it.”

25-year-old Medhurst has now played five games for the black and white since crossing to the club in the 2006 trade period after fives seasons and 99 games with the Dockers. The trade sent Chris Tarrant to Fremantle and also landed the Magpies the eighth overall draft pick in Ben Reid.

Medhurst kicked two crucial goals in his first outing for the Magpies back in round one, his 100th AFL appearance, and then booted four match-winning goals against Richmond in round three despite sustaining a serious ankle injury during the match that would keep him out for five weeks.

But it’s possible that his most important contribution was made against his old club in front of over 44,000 of the Magpie army in round ten.

"People change clubs, and you make them feel at home, the players make our blokes feel very at home, and all of a sudden, you’re just thinking what sort of bloke is he in the heat of battle, and all of a sudden, bang, that happens, and you think ‘good step’,” added Malthouse.