Carlton coach Mick Malthouse says the focus on him allows the Blues to prepare for Collingwood Carlton coach Mick Malthouse will use his knowledge of Collingwood players to help defeat the Magpies. CARLTON coach Mick Malthouse has been happy to wear the almost daily focus leading up to tomorrow's clash with Collingwood. Malthouse said today the attention on him coaching against so many Magpie players he led to premiership glory allowed his current group to work unhindered in their own preparations. And my playing group can be totally protected," Malthouse said before the Blues final training session at Visy Park. If that's the net outcome, that the pressure comes here (on him) and not on my team, I'll live with that every day. Malthouse said no-one at Carlton, particularly himself, has been caught up in any "must win" talk simply because he's a past Collingwood premiership coach. I've seen it a lot this year in Australian soccer, I've seen it in Australian Rugby, I see it internationally where the focus is 'we've got to beat that side'. And because Collingwood went in favourites and got beaten both times, where did they finish. It's hardly reflective, so I'm not going to get caught up in going back to the well and saying this is the way Carlton did it last year. Malthouse said there was nothing new in his intimate knowledge of most of the Collingwood players, pointing out that coaches use their assistants' previous alliances all the time in pre-game planning. Clearly, if you've been at a club for a long time, you do know them. But I come back to being totally satisfied beating the old arch enemy and you finish outside the eight. That doesn't make sense to me," he said. I have to give respect to every opposition and get my side ready to play that side. It's not because it's Collingwood or West Coast. When we play Melbourne, we'll use Brad Green. Of course, we will because he has been there and knows the players. When we play West Coast, Rob Wiley's association (will be used). I'd be a fool not to do that. It will simply make us better prepared. And Malthouse again denied that his Blues fought back in the second half against Richmond with a bolder, attacking form rather than his defence-dominated game plan. I don't believe in rolling the dice, I don't believe in Russian Roulette. We turned that because we played good football when we needed to and we didn't play good football earlier," he said. We've got to be better defensively. Those that finished outside the eight rarely matched it with the opposition defensively because the top eight sides generally occupy the top four to six positions defensively. If we don't aspire to and achieve that, we'll finish outside the eight. We didn't roll the dice last week, believe me. Malthouse said key forward Sam Rowe's debut would be a positive ot offset the loss of injured Eddie Betts. I didn't know him (Rowe). I knew of him and to actually come in and see his disposition and what it means to him to play football," he said. He treats it that he's desparate to play league football. But he threw himself right into it and by January he was almost saying I've caught the rest of them.