Docherty to return for Blues' elimination final, 183 days after ACL injury
Carlton’s Sam Docherty will make a miraculous return to football in this weekend’s elimination final against the Brisbane Lions, six months after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in opening round.
The Blues announced on Tuesday that Docherty will play on Saturday night at the Gabba, the same ground where he suffered the injury in March.
Sam Docherty will be named for Carlton’s elimination final.Credit: Getty Images
It means Docherty will have played three games in a row against the Lions – the 2023 preliminary final loss, opening round of 2024 and now the elimination final, all at the Gabba.
Docherty’s chances of lining up against the Lions have been growing by the day, as the Blues weigh up how many of their eight injured stars they can bring back for the crunch clash at the Gabba.
Players typically take nine to 12 months to return to the field after a knee reconstruction.
“The boys were pretty stoked for him. It’s obviously been a massive journey for him with multiple knees [injuries],” Docherty’s long-time teammate Jacob Weitering said.
“He’s put a lot of time and effort into getting back. And once you sort of set your mind to something, he is the motivated type to get it done. The boys were stoked. I’m sure he’ll do a good job for us this weekend.”
Docherty is coming back almost six months to the day his knee gave way when tackled in the opening round.
Few, if any, footy pundits expected Docherty to be back this year, but he has proven his resilience surviving two struggles against cancer and recovering from two anterior cruciate ligament tears.
“Sam, I would have said, he’s a chance. If you said anyone else, it’s probably a long shot,” Weitering said of his mid-season expectations of a 2024 return for Docherty.
“I think it just says a lot about him as a person, his commitment to the team and our mission and the high purpose of ultimately winning a premiership. He knows he probably hasn’t got a whole lot longer left in the system, and he’s certainly pushing to do that for us.”
Docherty is no stranger to stirring returns to the football field, or to serious knee injuries. He was sidelined for 2018 and 2019 with an ACL tear in his right knee and has also twice returned from treatment for cancer. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in late 2020, and returned to football in 2021 only to be diagnosed in August that year with stage 3 cancer that had spread.
The former skipper made a fairytale return in round one of 2022, kicking a goal to the delight of his teammates, Blues supporters and football fans in general.
Docherty said earlier this year that retiring after his latest setback – he also suffered meniscus damage in that incident at the Gabba – had never crossed his mind.
“No, I’m too stubborn. There’s something in my make-up that I do want to finish my career on my own terms and in my own way. That time is not now,” Docherty told Fox Footy’s AFL360.
“I’ve had my fair share of bad moments in AFL footy, but I still love the game and still feel I can play at a high level when I’m out there ... I want to be able to walk away from the game being comfortable with what I’ve done, and not having an injury or illness be the reason why.
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“There’s been plenty of times in my career that I probably could’ve pulled up stumps, but something that drives me to be able to leave AFL footy – whenever it is – with my own head high is a decision I’m really comfortable with.”
On Saturday, before the announcement that Docherty would return, his close friend and Blues skipper Patrick Cripps spoke about Docherty’s push for a comeback this year.
“He’s a guy that doesn’t do it the normal way, and he’s resilient,” Cripps said.
“All the stories you hear, we get to see the real-life version of the hard work he puts in which takes a special person to do it.”
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The other injured stars in the mix for selection are key forward pair Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay, as well as Mitch McGovern, Zac Williams, Adam Cerra, Jack Martin and Tom De Koning.
The Blues were devastated by injury in the run home and were missing many of their first-choice players as they held on to a finals berth.
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