As the ramifications of Essendon’s 2012 supplement program stretch into a third season, the Bombers find themselves unable to field at least 17 players who are provisionally suspended after being served with show-cause notices by ASADA.
Essendon are claiming they will be unable to field a team without those players and their participation in the pre-season competition is in serious doubt, but Malthouse believes they shouldn’t be allowed to simply withdraw from it.
“This is a national competition,” Malthouse declared. “It can’t be hijacked by one football club.
“This is a great test for the AFL and it’s administrators to be very, very firm and strong.
“I know it s a loose term and it’s been used a lot but the tail cannot wag the dog and I don’t think under the circumstances what’s happened over the last two years, that people can start dictating whether they’re going to play or not going to play.
“The rules are in place that there’s a competition at stake and I would personally expect that there be nine games in the first round contested by 18 teams.”
Although they’ve often been at odds since Malthouse’s departure from Collingwood at the end of 2011, he did find an ally in current Magpies coach Nathan Buckley.
"If you need to find players from outside, then allow it, it's an exceptional circumstance," said Buckley from quotes on the AFL website.
"I agree with [Mick] in that regard. It's an 18-team competition and the AFL need to be strong in the way that they enforce their regulations and their expectations on each and every one of the clubs.
"It just so happens that it's Essendon on this occasion and you'd expect strong leadership from the top.
"I think the feeling is it would be better put behind us and the quicker we can do that, the better," he said.
"The AFL aren't entirely in control of it, ASADA have clearly got the reins at the moment and the sooner those findings come back down the better, and everyone can get on with business."
Malthouse, was asked about Essendon while doing a joint press conference on Thursday morning with Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou – himself a Carlton supporter.
But while AFL has often distanced itself from the round ball code, Malthouse said he’d been using the Socceroos’ triumph at the recent Asian Cup to help inspire a rebuilding Carlton side featuring plenty of young faces.
“I’m an Australian and I just love the fact that we won the Asian Cup and the way we did it,” Malthouse said.
“And Ange is the primary reason why we’ve done it because of that man management.
“So I’ve learnt a lot by watching and I just think that you’ve got to be able to do that.
“We will certainly have a lot of young players play against West Coast in the first NAB Cup (game) so if they can just grab hold of the same principles that Ange has injected into his Australian side, where they’re not there to make up numbers, they’re there to actually impose themselves, that’s what I want our blokes to do.”