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Cometti: Eagles was Mick's high point

Michael Malthouse will make history on Friday night when Carlton play Collingwood.

In case you've been living under a rock - or in New Zealand - Malthouse will move past Collingwood's legendary coach Jock McHale when he coaches his 715th game.

Of course Malthouse is just back from New Zealand, where his Blues have a perfect record.

I can only assume he enjoyed the trip for two reasons, the win and the calm.

Truth be told, the anonymity alone would have made for a pleasant change.

At the moment very little seems stable around him.

Carlton, despite that success on Saturday, appear a troubled club.

Regardless, Mick has stayed the course.

His record is an amazing one, and sure to be appreciated infinitely more in the future than it will in the present.

And if nothing else he's done it his way.

How did Frank Sinatra put it? "Regrets, I've had a few ..." Most of us do.

But I'm not sure Mick takes that line.

Mick Malthouse has won three premierships during his record-breaking career. Pic: Getty Images

Looking back at his storied coaching career, three things strike me most.

The controversy surrounding his leaving a club. The Bulldogs, the Eagles and the Magpies, no departure was easy.

The uneasy alliance he had with some of the tallest poppies within those clubs. Brad Hardie, Steve Malaxos, John Worsfold, Eddie McGuire and Nathan Buckley. Why even Chris Judd lost the Carlton captaincy when Mick arrived.

And of course, the success.

Hapless Footscray were just a couple of kicks and a Ken Judge blinder away from a grand final.

A decade of finals appearances punctuated with two premierships at the Eagles.

And another glorious run of success (22 finals in 12 years) including a flag at Collingwood.

I've heard it said (almost exclusively by West Australians) Mick should have done better at West Coast. On the contrary. I would argue he reached his zenith in Perth.

Under Malthouse the Eagles played in 25 finals over 10 years.

Surely it would have been more had it not been for red tape.

Remember the arcane rule of the time that at least one final be played at the MCG every weekend?

It was an arrangement that cost the Eagles dearly with two losses (the 1996 first semifinal v Essendon and the 1999 first semifinal v Carlton).

Who knows, maybe it could have been three or even four premierships?

Memories that, if nothing else, might give Michael Malthouse cause for just a few regrets.