> Watch Mick Malthouse address the media after the match

COLLINGWOOD coach Mick Malthouse was reluctant to talk up the magnitude of his side’s thrilling one-point win over the Western Bulldogs on Friday night but admitted the victory over the Magpies’ top-four rival will instill confidence in the run towards September.

The Pies were forced to dig deep in their round 15 duel at Docklands, staving off Rodney Eade’s side to win 17.9 (111) to 16.14 (110).

The win – his team’s seventh on end – came after the Magpies had led by as much as 41 points mid-way through the third term and by 34 points at three-quarter time.

Immediately after the game, Malthouse said he “hadn’t thought” of the significance of the win but was pleased his side had shown it could mix it with the Bulldogs – a team many had labelled a genuine premiership threat after demolishing Hawthorn by 88 points the previous week.

“We’ve managed to drag ourselves back into equal third bar percentage, so that’s a good place to be,” Malthouse said.

“We’ve worked pretty hard to get that far and against a quality opponent I think the boys can take some valuable confidence with them.”

Malthouse didn’t seem too upset by his side’s final term, in which the Bulldogs slammed home 6.5 to 1.2 to almost steal the result. The coach said football was a game of momentum.

“I wasn’t surprised and nor was I comfortable at three-quarter time and I’m sure the players weren’t comfortable at three-quarter time,” he said.

“We started well and they finished well.

“The siren goes at the end of the game and someone’s got to be in front; we were and they come home like a train.

> Watch the team sign the song in the rooms after the win

“They’re a fantastic football side and we proved tonight I thought that we can go round with some of them.”

The coach said his players would also have learned a lot from the match, one he said “needed to be played the way it was played” against the high-scoring, free-flowing Bulldogs.

“There was some outstanding courage by all players and I’m not just talking about Collingwood players. I just thought that … it was a pretty good game of football played by 44 desperate players,” he said.

> Watch Heath Shaw speak to CTV in the rooms after the one-point win

The veteran coach also praised his defence. While captain Nick Maxwell, Harry O’Brien, Heath Shaw and Simon Prestigiacomo were among the standouts, Malthouse said he wasn’t critical of any of his back six, saying the Bulldogs had enough good players to hurt opposition teams.

“I thought if we kicked 15 or 16 I thought we could win it,” Malthouse said.

“I had faith in our defensive qualities. As it turned out, we needed 17, so I don’t think I was far off the money.”