Wellington Mick Malthouse will enter a historic week with cause to celebrate after Carlton rallied for its first win of the season on Saturday, but the game's record-breaking coach can't wait for the next six days to be over.
The spotlight that has followed him through a trying month will still be there as Malthouse prepares to break Jock McHale's record by coaching his 715th AFL game, but even the happier motive behind the attention won't change his conviction that the week looms as a burden.
"I'm not going to treat it with disdain because I think Jock McHale certainly deserves more than that," Malthouse said after the Blues' 39-point win. "But the reality is we come into this game and the last thing I thought about was any such number, and quite frankly I can see it being a burden because already there's comparisons. There's numbers, there's 'He's a great bloke', there's all sorts of comparisons and I'm not into that."
Malthouse said he will one day reflect on the achievement 30 years of coaching at AFL level has brought, but not get caught up in it this week as he attempts to build on Saturday's performance with another strong showing against Collingwood at the MCG on Friday night.
"But having said that I'll have my family there and hopefully all of my grandchildren there and I hope we as a team can perform and the number will roll on and we'll get it over and done with. I'm not minimising it, believe me."
After trailing by 26 points early in the game the Blues, led by Anzac medallist and captain Marc Murphy, ground their way to a win that would give heart not least for the strong showing in his sixth game from Patrick Cripps and an eye-catching debut by Blaine Boekhorst, but the evenness of a contribution in which Lachie Henderson and Tom Bell capped the good work with five and four goals respectively.
"I don't want to make it a relief to have won, but I think all the hard work we've done, you just need a little bit of luck fall our way," Malthouse said. "We weren't flash, but the ball just started to fall our way a bit, then you increase your belief, and what started off as a mediocre rise turns into a solid victory on the back of playing some reasonable football, and hard football.
"What ends up happening going forward is the ability to work why we haven't been winning and why we can win. You don't have to be a Rhodes scholar to work out there's differentials all the way through, and if we do this better we'll have better results through the year."
The Saints have now lost all three of their home games played in Wellington, and a disappointing crowd of only 12,125 will make for an interesting review of a deal that expires in 2018.
Coach Alan Richardson bemoaned a pattern of losing dare and becoming conservative when the opposition gathers momentum, although a tackle count of 93 was at least a pleasing reflection of a group that both coaches noted did not give up.
"As a group they've embraced everything we've asked [and] we have to continue to do it," Richardson said. "It's a journey and one where we're going to get lessons along the way - we certainly got another one today.
"Clearances are something we must get right. We think we have some really good people in there - [Luke] Dunstan's not flying, but he's whacking away. Jack Steven was well held on the outside by [Ed] Curnow, he's laid 11 tackles for us. David Armitage was pretty strong again. Billy Longer probably played his best game."
Richardson noted that St Kilda was without its captain, Nick Riewoldt, while Carlton's skipper Marc Murphy won the Anzac medal for best afield. "They have a really significant influence on a game of footy, your more experienced players - particularly your champions."
He conceded that Riewoldt and Leigh Montagna were more unlikely than likely to return for next Sunday's game against Essendon.
