LAST night at the MCG, it was all about Sam Docherty.
As much as he shared the occasion with teammate Jacob Weitering, who became the 40th player to reach 200 games in the Navy Blue, there was universal acclaim across the sporting landscape for someone whose triumphs against adversity transcended the game.
Supporters on both sides stood as one when Docherty kicked an eagerly anticipated goal in the third quarter and they stayed around in their thousands as Docherty was chaired off at the end of a storeyed career.
Everyone knows what he has been through, what he has survived to come back time and time again.
But along the way he has shone like a beacon to those of us who have had our own struggles, and will no doubt continue to do so in whatever follows in the next stage of his life.
Even in the rooms after the game, the high regard for Sam Docherty was palpable.
Having thanked his own family and the players, Weitering reserved his most heartfelt remarks for ‘Doc’.
“It has been an absolute privilege to play alongside you, I’m just sorry to see you go,” he said.
Sam’s own comments were brief, saying all the right things about his family, teammates and the club he loves, but also that he was all talked out after a big week.
He still managed a couple of words, seven to be exact, for the Sentinel-Times.
How was that tonight?
“Wonderful, good, but we didn’t win.”
How would you describe your career?
“Long,” said Sam with a wry smile.
Moderately long in terms of 184 games, 13 with the Brisbane Lions and 171 with Carlton, but heroically long in terms of returning after three ACL injuries in 2017, 2018 and 2024, completing the recovery in six months so he could play finals that year, and of course, two bouts of cancer in 2020 and 2021.
Among his achievements are captaining Carlton for three seasons, being named All Australian in 2017, claiming the John Nicholls Medal in 2016, David Parkin Medal in 2017 and 2022 and receiving the prestigious Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award in 2023 for using his illness as a platform to raise awareness and much-needed funds for cancer research.
There’s a lot more things to football, they say, than really meets the eye, and it's in that context that you see Sam Docherty’s career.
A proud mum, Anabelle Docherty, with her arms full of grandchildren watched on from the sidelines in the rooms afterwards.
What are you feeling?
“Just looking forward to what comes next,” she says.
“You look around here and there’s all the Docherty’s. Heaps of people you know everywhere around. Of course, very proud of him. Very much so.”
And brother Josh, what are you thinking?
“Yes, there’s been lots of ups and downs,” said Josh.
“We had one good season together at home which was great.
“But yeah, it’s been quite a journey.”
