42 AND THE ULTIMATE QUESTION by George on the Outer

"42 ... the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything." - Douglas Adams. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

It took the supercomputer, Deep Thought, 7½ million years to compute and check the answer, which turns out to be 42. And 42 seconds was how long remained on the clock when Melbourne finally hit the front in the final quarter against the Saints.

It seems that the slow thinking Melbourne contingent ... from the coaches box, to the runner, to the senior players, to the most junior of players think that they also have 7 1/2 million years to work out how to shut down the game at that point.

Every single player should have been in the back half at the final bounce. Every single player should have attacked the ball to kill the game.

The result: a Jack Steven possession, long kick to the forward line, where Montagna crumbed after starting in the centre himself. Not one Melbourne player ran with him!

After that goal, not a single St.Kilda players remained in their forward half for the final bounce. What a contrast, and exactly what the Melbourne players should have done 20 seconds earlier! Ball killedgame over.

It was a fitting end to a game that Melbourne should have taken by the throat multiple times but like last week against the Pies, the ineptitude and costly turnovers kept the oppositions score ticking over nicely.

Coupled with that was the unwillingness of multiple players to make a contest when needed. With two relatively new additions to the team in Billy Stretch and Alex Neal-Bullen, it should be expected that others take up the role of providing them with the necessary leadership. But that is coming from the likes of Jack Viney, Jesse Hogan and Angus Brayshaw, who once again put in sterling performances.

Not so Jeremy Howe who is fast writing himself a ticket to elsewhere, and would remain in the side only because there are no options pressing at Casey. Jeff Garlett needs to produce more than three disposals in a game, while Heritier Lumumba and Cam Pedersen put in absolute shockers as well.

In the ruck Max Gawn all but cemented his position as number 1 ruck for the future, as he fed the mids with plenty of opportunities both in the middle and around the ground. If only we could only get a decent pre-season into him, he would be our answer for next year.

Where would Melbourne have been without Bernie Vince and Daniel Cross who picked up 38 and 29 disposals respectively which meant they had more touches than any Saints player? Unfortunately, these figures also show how the standard drops away so quickly from there.

Nathan Jones put in his usual efforts trying to create something, but is obviously still carrying an injury as he spent a good portion of the second quarter on the bench, and then slotted onto the half forward flank instead of his usual mid only role. How we could have used his grunt in the middle with those 42 seconds to go?

This was a game which summed up the Melbourne Football club in this game:

Unwilling to do the necessary work when required, to seal an already won game.

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Slow thinking, dumb thinking.

Laziness and an unwillingness to take responsibility yourself.

Failing to follow instructions.

Not giving the fans anything to be hopeful for.

Ron Barassi had a saying if it is to beit is up to me! It should be written on the inside of every Melbourne player's locker.

The answer doesnt lie with anyone else. The answer is not 42.

Melbourne 3.4.22 8.6.54 11.9.75 12.11.83

St. Kilda 3.5.23 9.6.60 11.9.75 12.13.85

Goals

Melbourne Hogan 5 Toumpas 2 Brayshaw Garlett Howe McDonald Viney

St. Kilda Riewoldt 4 Lonie 2 Bruce Membrey Minchington Montagna Ross Steven

Best

Melbourne Hogan Viney Toumpas Dunn N Jones Vince Cross

St. Kilda Montagna Riewoldt Newnes

Changes

Melbourne Nil

St. Kilda Nil

Injuries

Melbourne Cam Pedersen (hand)

St. Kilda Nil

Substitutions

Melbourne Cam Pedersen (hand) replaced by Viv Michie in the third quarter

St. Kilda Luke Delaney replaced by Blake Acres in the third quarter

Reports

Melbourne Nil

St. Kilda Nil

Umpires Chamberlain, Kamolins, Wallace

Official crowd 25,217 at Etihad Stadium