1942

Captain - Coach: Percy Beames
Finishing Position: 8th
Best and Fairest: Allan La Fontaine
Leading Goalkicker: Fred Fanning (37)
Best First Year Player: n/a

Matches

Ladder

Playing List

Tribunal

Seconds

After winning the past three VFL premierships, Melbourne entered the new year with most of their premiership players engaged in the war effort, and only three of the 1941 seconds players available. Melbourne voted to cease the competition until the war was won, but other clubs opted to continue. There was still doubt about the competition going ahead early in late March, but it was decided to play unless the situation in the Pacific War deteroriated sharply.

The Demons stated that it would be unable to field a team unless other sides cleared players from their districts, and considered voluntarily withdrawing as Geelong had done. Talk of a wartime amalgamation with Collingwood was shelved when each side discovered they were better off for players than they'd first thought. In addition to many players, Melbourne had also lost Secretary Percy Page and coach Checker Hughes to retirement. The season went on, but with player payments reduced from the regular 3 pounds per game to 1 pound 10 shillings per premiership match, with lower payments for those senior list who didn't play.

Percy Beames took over a side with 18 of 36 players from 1941 unavailable, and many of them away at various times during the year. Even after playing their Round 2 game, there was talk of the club dropping out of the league. The club had even lost access to the MCG, which was being used as a camp by the US Army. They played home games at Punt Road and trained at the Albert Ground. After losing their first three games, the decimated club recovered to finish eighth on an unbalanced ladder where Carlton, Collingwood, Footscray, North Melbourne and St Kilda had two byes, which carried four premiership points, and other clubs only had one.

In Round 2 war hero Keith Truscott returned to play what would be his final game. He was made honourary captain for the day. That day Melbourne and Richmond set a VFL record for aggregate score in a match, 313 points, that stood until 1972.

Crowds across the league tumbled, now nearly half of what they had been before the war and down nearly 30 per cent on the previous year.

The Round 14 games were originally scheduled to be played a week later after a break for a VFL representative match against a team representing the military services, before the game was called off when the services insisted in playing on a Sunday.

Melbourne's VFL delegates were Joe Blair and Bruce Hogg. No elections were required for committee positions - H. Donahoo and W. Flintoft represented the MCC Committee, FW Ince, G. Sleight, ECH Taylor, RJ Taylor, WJ Saunders, RB Hogg and L. McArthur represented MCC Members, and A. McLPatterson and W. Berry represented MFC members. S. Brownbill, GM Joshua, L. Lambrick and W. Murphy were coopted to the board by the MCC.

Premiership season

Round	Opposition	Result	Score
1	Essendon	LOSS	110-164
2	Richmond	LOSS	117-196
3	Fitzroy	LOSS	77-133
4	Hawthorn	WIN	111-65
5	South Melbourne	LOSS	115-148
6	St. Kilda	LOSS	45-89
7	North Melbourne	WIN	83-76
8	Collingwood	LOSS	80-105
9	BYE
10	Carlton	LOSS	67-95
11	Footscray	LOSS	95-126
12	Essendon	WIN	104-84
13	Richmond	LOSS	86-111
14	Fitzroy	WIN	85-68
15	Hawthorn	WIN	118-57
16	South Melbourne	LOSS	91-107

Ladder

	W	D	L	%	P
Essendon	12	0	3	127.1	52
Richmond	11	0	4	134.5	48
South Melbourne	11	0	4	129.0	48
Footscray	10	0	4	126.0	48
Carlton	10	0	4	120.2	48
Fitzroy	8	0	7	104.9	36
St. Kilda	6	0	8	81.9	32
Melbourne	5	0	10	85.2	24
North Melbourne	4	0	10	78.2	24
Collingwood	2	0	12	76.0	16
Hawthorn	1	0	14	65.6	8

Playing list

Number	Player	Games	Goals
1	Keith Truscott	1	1
2	Roy Dowsing	15	2
3	Bob Spargo	2	0
4	Norm Smith	10	30
5	Tom Bush	4	2
5	Billy Deans	4	3
6	Fred Fanning	15	37
7	Jack Heal	3	1
8	Don Hewson	8	0
9	Richie Emselle	13	2
10	Maurie Gibb	14	4
11	Norm Matthews	8	0
12	Jack Mueller	13	26
13	George Lenne	13	0
14	George Archibald	11	0
15	Ron Baggott	7	19
16	Tom Ferguson	5	1
17	Allan La Fontaine	12	5
18	Darcy Walsh	7	0
19	Ray Shearer	2	0
20	Ted Wood	2	0
21	Don Cordner	12	2
22	Arthur Franklin	3	2
23	Ray Wartman	1	0
24	Percy Beames	14	28
25	Hughie McPherson	9	0
26	Gordon Kramer	2	0
27	Frank Deayton	10	0
28	Ted Cordner	11	0
29	Jack O'Keefe	5	2
29	Colin Bradley	4	0
30	Alby Rodda	8	9
31	Les Gibbs	9	4
32	Bob Stone	3	0
33	Bernie Neenan	1	2
34	Adrian Dullard	8	7
35	Danny Powell	7	6
36	Bryan Martin	3	0
	Clyde Helmer	2	3
	Jim McDonald	1	0
	Jack Minnis	3	0

Awards
Best clubman - Percy Beames
Most improved - Donald Cordner

Tribunal

Round	Player	Charge	Sanction
Round 1	Norm Smith	Jostling	Not Guilty
Round 3	Jack O'Keefe	Elbowing	Not Guilty
Round 12	Les Gibbs	Striking	Not Guilty

Seconds

1942 Seconds Season
Best and Fairest - Tom Ferguson

	W	D	L	P
St Kilda	10	0	3	48
Richmond	11	0	3	48
Essendon	9	0	4	44
Fitzroy	10	0	4	44
Footscray	8	0	5	40
South Melbourne	5	0	8	28
Melbourne	4	0	9	24
Carlton	2	0	12	12
North Melbourne	1	0	12	12

Notes
All Seconds teams other than Richmond, Fitzroy and Carlton had two byes.

Some sources suggest Melbourne trained on Punt Road on Monday and Wednesday rather than the Albert Ground.
Pre-season report (Age 02/04/1945) says Bill Farrell would coach the Seconds 'subject to approval of the MCC' but he didn't take up the role.

Media
Sun - 10/02/1942, 23/02/1942, 25/04/1942, 22/07/1942
Herald - 11/02/1942, 31/03/1942
Argus - 10/03/1942, 20/04/1942, 24/04/1942 - 24/04/1942
Age - 31/03/1942, 18/05/1942

Links
AFL Tables page
Wikipedia page
Membership image courtesy of grandoldflag.net