Sam Docherty is determined to turn Carlton into a top-four AFL force after completing a remarkable injury return that coach Michael Voss reckons may never be replicated.
But first, the Blues’ inspiration needs a rest.
Carlton’s season was ended in apt fashion at the Gabba on Saturday, the Blues the first team in 50 years not to score a point in the opening quarter of a finals game and eventually falling 14.15 (99) to 11.5 (71) to the Brisbane Lions.
They conceded the first nine goals before kicking five straight and then the game’s final three, Docherty adding one of his own in his return from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in the opening round at the same venue.
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The injury generally carries a 12-month rehabilitation tag but the 30-year-old, who has twice recovered from cancer, did it in half that time.
“There was always the dream… every step we got was a bit closer but we always knew if I missed a target… we were all under agreeance we would stop,” Docherty said post-game of his ambitious rehabilitation effort.
“Everything fell into place… it was a hell of a year, but an unfortunate finish.
“I put my foot to the floor for six months. I do need a rest. I can’t undersell… what I pushed myself through this year.”
Voss was brought to tears when addressing Docherty, who he drafted as Brisbane coach in 2011, post-game, admitting he ‘thought he was mad’ when the veteran confidently declared just weeks after his knee injury that he would be back for finals.
“I’m really pleased he’s got through it, I can breathe a bit and we get to have him next year now,” Voss said.
“He’s an amazing human being isn’t he, wow.
“It’s a one-off. I don’t know whether I’ll see that ever again in my career.
“But when I sat in front of the bloke when he had cancer and said he’d play round one, I thought he was mad then.
“After that… you tend to believe him.”
However, former AFL greats Nathan Buckley and Garry Lyon disagreed, with Buckley saying on Fox Footy that the move to select Docherty off no preparation was a mistake, with Lyon labelling it a sign of desperation.
“If you’re bringing in six changes, they need to be pretty fit. Now Docherty hasn’t played since Opening Round,” Buckley said.
“That wasn’t the right call. It wasn’t the right call for Sam Docherty. It wasn’t the right call for Carlton.”
“When you’ve got to play Sam Docherty in an elimination final after he did his knee in Round 1 and hasn’t played since… that tells you where they’re at,” Lyon said.
“They were desperate coming in.”
Lions coach Chris Fagan also admitted he had fears of re-injury for Docherty and thinks it’s unlikely to become a new rehabilitation benchmark for clubs to strive towards.
Docherty was likely the only person at the Gabba not thinking about the prospect of hurting it again.
“My life’s taught me many things but one of the main things is don’t worry about the shit that doesn’t matter,” he said.
“It’s funny, a lot of people probably do stress about this stuff, but I’ve been through this a few times.”
Voss lamented his team’s lack of consistency across a season that was summed up neatly in their final performance.
“We’re the unfinished product, the result says so,” the coach said.
“We can emphatically say we don’t like where we are.
“It’s not over yet, he’s (Docherty) got more to go and ours (progression) is incomplete.
“We’ve got some really clear things we’ve got to get after to be better to be top four regularly.
“That’s where we want to be … we’re going to put our head down and make sure it happens.”
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