COLLINGWOOD coach Mick Malthouse has refused to bite back at a recent newspaper article questioning him and his side’s tactics.

In an article earlier this week former premiership coach Robert Walls questioned the ability of Malthouse and Brisbane Lions coach Leigh Matthews, the two oldest coaches in the AFL, to keep up with the pace of change in today's football.

Malthouse said he wasn’t going to be drawn into a slanging match with Walls, whom he had “always admired”.

“I could say a lot of things but … what’s the point?” Malthouse said.

“There’s no point; let’s just move on.

“Sometimes it says a little bit more about the author than it does about the subject.”

Malthouse said he hadn’t read Walls’ article but he had been made aware of it by one of his assistant coaches.

In the article, Walls noted that Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions averaged the lowest number of handballs per match in the AFL.

But Malthouse said injuries and team structure dictated every team’s style of play.

“It’s ironic that the things that get pointed out to you statistically are that you don’t handpass enough, and yet last year they believe it was one of the reasons why we got so close to Geelong in that preliminary final,” Malthouse said.

“My role is simply to get the best out of our player group, like Leigh who’s been fantastic.”

When asked about his side’s kick-to-handball ratio, Malthouse reiterated the view that it was a coach’s duty to promote his side’s strengths.

“You coach along the lines of the strengths of your team,” he said.

Malthouse wasn’t convinced Geelong’s high-possession style was the “right” way to play, rather it was a case of whatever worked for each side.

The two-time premiership coach said the Magpies have had to adapt this season in the absence of key players such as Anthony Rocca.

“Our style is to move the ball reasonably quickly and when we have to handpass, handpass,” Malthouse said.

“In the past we’ve had Anthony Rocca sitting forward and our handpasses have increased since Anthony’s been out because we haven’t got that big, tall target.

“When Anthony’s in, our handpasses will decrease because we get the ball quicker to him and he’s such a massive competitor for us.”