By Andrew Wu
Sam Docherty has a belief instilled in him by his mother: everything happens for a reason. He regularly tells his wife, Natalie, the reason for his professional and personal hardships is to teach him life lessons. She has a quick response.
“I’m sick of learning lessons – can we have a break?”
Life lessons: Carlton’s Sam Docherty.Credit: Jason South
At a time when Docherty should be enjoying the good times at Carlton, the lifelong Blues supporter and inspirational former captain is coming to grips with a third season wiped out by a knee injury.
Docherty has been through far worse. His father, Eddie, died suddenly while he was on a pre-season training camp in Arizona. As a survivor of multiple cancer battles, he is no stranger to devastating news from doctors. Perspective does not come immediately.
“It doesn’t make the professional scans any easier,” Docherty said. “In the moment, just because you’ve gone through harder things, doesn’t make it easier.
“You’ve still got to process it, and get through.”
As shocked as the football world was to learn of Docherty had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in March, the man himself had more than an inkling what had happened.
On the night of the injury, Docherty had been confident he had damaged only meniscus. His knee was stable, he could still twist and turn. He even went back on and got a kick.
“It wasn’t great, but in my mind going off my other two knees there was no way in the world I could have done any of this stuff,” Docherty recalls. “It has to be something different.”
Though Docherty has learnt not to overly fret about cancer scans as “you can’t control what the cells in your body are going to do”, he could not help but worry about his knee.
His worst fears were seeded on the flight home from Brisbane, and when he was walking to get his knee scanned in Melbourne, he could tell things were not right. A giveaway was when he texted his doctor and did not get an instant answer.
“He’s usually hot on the reply, he didn’t reply for five or six minutes,” Docherty said.
“I just had these moments. I was hoping I was way off, but I don’t like my chances here. By the time I found out, I was already at the stage where I almost conceded I was in trouble.”
Inspirational: Sam Docherty kicks a goal during Carlton’s 2023 finals campaign.Credit: Getty Images
Breaking the news to his family was difficult. They know through experience of his previous ACL injuries and cancer diagnoses that surprise calls from him generally do not bode well.
“They almost have PTSD when my phone calls at a time when I don’t usually call,” Docherty said. “They just know that something’s not right.
“Having to tell my wife, then seeing her when I’ve gotten home, getting the courage to call my brother and mum and have that conversation and drop the bad news on them. They just want to see me happy and healthy.
“To come with more news of misfortune is sometimes really tough. I dreaded that as much as everything else.”
Despite his real life-and-death struggles, Docherty allowed himself to briefly indulge in self-pity before pulling himself together.
His previous injury setbacks, Docherty said, had taught him to open his inner circle, embrace vulnerability and improve his mental health. They had made him a better partner, father and son.
He is certain the same will apply this time, but almost two months on, the exact lesson is not yet clear.
“I’m still in the pit right now,” Docherty said with a laugh. “It takes time to be able to see what it means in your life.”
What Docherty cannot understand is why now, when he should be part of a tilt at a drought-busting flag after all the on-field misery he played through since joining the Blues for the 2014 season.
“I still hope we go on and win the premiership, as hard as it will be for me to watch,” he said.
Docherty’s focus this week is on something else he holds dear: the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, which helped him fight through cancer in 2021. Fans are being encouraged to be in their seats by 7:35pm before Friday night’s clash with Collingwood to witness a pre-game tribute. Carlton players will wear purple laces – the centre’s signature colour.
Docherty accepts his cancer fight will be with him for the rest of his life. He now undergoes scans every six months.
“I feel in such great hands and care that it takes a lot of the stress out,” Docherty, a board member for the Peter Mac Foundation, said. “As much as I know the treatment you have to go through is a tough road I feel if I have to go down that path I’ll be in the best care that I can possibly have in Australia.”
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