And with a 67-66 win-loss ratio (plus two draws) at Footscray, it wasn't as if Malthouse had enjoyed the greatest statistical start to his coaching career. West coach stars Brett Heady and Dean Kemp celebrate with coach Mick Malthouse back in 1992. Yet this week, more than 15 years later, Malthouse will break Jock McHale's long-standing record for VFL/AFL games coached (714) when he leads Carlton into battle against Collingwood. His win-loss record looks a lot better – 406 wins, three of them premierships; 301 losses, four of them in grand finals; and seven draws, including one in the 2010 Grand Final. "The directors thought we needed an outside influence," Eagles chief executive officer Trevor Nisbett said.

"We'd gone with two legends of the game in Western Australia to start with [Ron Alexander coached in 1987]. Whether right or wrong, there was a thought that we needed to play better when we were away from home. Mick Malthouse is hoisted in the air after the Eagles' Grand Final win against Geelong in 1992. "After asking three of four other people, their opinions of our list and if they would be interested in coaching, Mick's reaction was really positive." So how long did it take Nisbett, who started with West Coast just before Malthouse's appointment, to realise they had the right man? Malthouse hugs David Wirrpunda as West Coast Eagles coach for the last time in 1999. Credit:Sebastian Costanzo

"Probably day one when he stormed in and said this is the direction we want to take; pointing fingers at people to get things done," he said. "I think it was a pretty special moment. Eagles boss Trevor Nisbett knew Malthouse was the right man for the job from day one. "It was obvious he knew what he wanted. "For Mick to come in, he didn't have to make too many tough decisions in the first year because they had already been done (by Todd).

"When Michael came in, the first instance we had to do was draft well; if we didn't we're going to leave ourselves a dozen players short of where we had to be. "It wasn't about him. It was about setting a culture at a football club that led to success. "We had to find the draft pics for him and then establish a culture that was about winning and developing people to be good citizens, and so forth, and he always had that mantra." Ryan Turnbull, Peter Matera, Tony Evans, Brett Heady, Ashley McIntosh and Dean Kemp were introduced to the club that year and all became premiership players in either 1992 or 94, or both. Mitchell White and Glen Jakovich followed the next year.

In his first year in the job, 1990, Malthouse took West Coast to third on the ladder, with 16 wins – the same as second-placed Collingwood and just one fewer than Essendon. Only one of the eight losses (including in two finals) was suffered at home, in round 20, by Melbourne. And the run in the finals was horrific. Their last six games (two qualifying games and four finals, including the draw against Collingwood) were played away from home. Nisbett said that there was a thought starting to evolve that it was impossible for a side based outside of Victoria to win a flag.