In part two of our exclusive three-part interview with Collingwood senior coach Mick Malthouse, we find out what he's expecting from his players in season 2008 and what he thought of the Magpies' pre-season trip to South Africa.

You said at the season launch the older players believe the time is now.
There's no doubt about that. Senior players just don't want to play another year of football. They want to play another year of finals football. It's a driving force for most players who are in the twilight of their career.

How pleased were you when Scott Burns told you he was prepared to lead the side?
There were a lot of players that did that. The chances of an independent being president in the United States are pretty remote; you're either going to be a democrat or a republican. If you look at our senior leaders group, which was picked by the players, it's very rare that we would consider someone from outside that. When you're given five that the playing group nominated, it's going to come from that five unless something extraordinary happens. The fact he put his name up for selection for the leadership group meant he was ready for senior selection as a possible captain.

You must be happy Shane Wakelin decided to play on with Simon Prestigiacomo going down early?
Shane would play forever if he could. He just loves being around the club; his finals series last year was excellent, so unless something mysterious has happened over the pre-season you'd expect him to be back to what he was last year.

You wouldn't have expected him to play such a key role this year?
That would be right. You go back 12 months ago and Wakes was of the knowledge that we would be picking the side around him, not with him, and if something happened he would be considered with his form. He was a back-up, and as it turned out, the durable back-up became almost irreplaceable.

How important is his presence to the younger defenders?
You'd have to ask them. [Nick] Maxwell, [Tarkyn] Lockyer and Heath Shaw are probably a bit more vocal; Wakes isn't an overly vocal player. He's probably more a one-on-one player more so.

The kids that did play last year, how important is it for them to stay focused and kick on with it?
That's the test, the big challenge; to make sure the players that played any sort of role last year have got the capacity to absorb the knowledge of the opposition and move forward. The players I'll be looking to for that this year are Danny Stanley, he's got to stand up, Ryan Cook, Jack Anthony - although he didn't play a game, Shannon Cox has now got himself into a really fit state and he's a wonderful player, so we need him up.

Marty Clarke has played games, Brad Dick might not be able to add games until at least late in the season, and Ben Reid played games and was terrific, even though he was the youngest player in the draft last year. He's still only 18. They're the players that are so important to us, because we don't want them to just go through and play a couple of games. They've got to be significant contributors.

Based on that, you'd be expecting bigger years from Scott Pendlebury and Dale Thomas as well?
They're into their third season and they've just got to go on again. Players shouldn't be scared of expectations; we expect them to be good players.

Is there another young surprise packet hiding in the wings this year?
Given that Jimmy (James Clement) has retired and Simon won't be available for the first couple of weeks, clearly there are a few roles back there. Harry [O'Brien] has to play tall and medium, so he'll cover one man and [Tyson] Goldsack is 191cm, a lot bigger than what he was last year.

It may well be a medium [Alan] Toovey or a Cox or a Cook or a Stanley. It could be Nathan Brown, it could be Jack Anthony, it could be Chris Dawes as a key back. They're the ones that we expect to improve. How rapid? Well, we've also got a bit of patience about us.

Will Harry benefit from more responsibility down there this year?
Harry is a potential club leader. We hold him in that high regard. With where he's come from, he came over as a rookie and patiently waited for an extra year, and then has forced himself into the side through sheer want and just demanded a game.

How did the South Africa trip help the guys?
The significance of all those trips is unveiled at the end of the year when players say, 'We were successful because we gained so much from one, two, three, four'. You'd like to think they put that experience down to those three or four things, because that's why we've elected to go there. It's not easy when you've got 15 people looking after 45 players, because you're constantly on notice, you've got to be on alert, it's a different country, we're experiencing all types of differences.

The playing group itself should get something out of that and that's why, at the end of the year, I would like to think they'll attribute their successes or their gains because they've been looked after, prepared, and that, significantly, the trip to South Africa was one of the catalysts.

Did you enjoy the trip?
I love anything to do with a different culture where you can come away and say, 'Right, that's Australia, and that's South Africa, and that's Flagstaff in the States'. You look at how the Indians are treated and how the black Africans are treated and the white Africans, and the different laws and the different rules and idiosyncrasies of the governments. I do enjoy it.

Stay tuned for part three next week when Malthouse talks about himself as a coach, shares some thoughts on the state of the game and how things have changed since he first started coaching 25 years ago.