Sam Docherty Biography

Sam Docherty's 2024 season is over after he suffered an ACL injury as well as a meniscus tear in the first quarter of the Blues' opening round clash against Brisbane.

"Football becomes almost insignificant when you consider all Sam has endured and overcome over the last few years, this news simply isn’t fair, but as Carlton people we love Sam dearly - we will support him through this so he can return to the field when he is ready." Blues footy boss Brad Lloyd said.

Sam Docherty is awarded the 2023 Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award for his work in raising funds for cancer research and supporting children's charities.

"Sam should be incredibly proud of this achievement, and I’d like to congratulate him on the tremendous support and advocacy he’s provided for patients, families and everyone in the community who has been impacted by cancer,” AFL Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan said.

"The way Sam has been able to use his own personal experience to give hope, inspiration and raise an enormous amount of funds for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation and other charities is a testament to his character."

Bobby Hill says fellow cancer survivors Sam Docherty and Ben Cunnington reached out to him after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer at just 22 in May of 2022.

"It is a big thing to go through. It is a very serious thing. Looking back at it now, I had great support from my family and others," Hill said.

"I had Docherty and Cunnington reach out to me. They got in contact and helped me out. Full credit to them. They messaged me on their own and were a big help for me. I needed that. I won't forget that."

Sam Docherty extends his stay with the Blues until at least the end of 2025.

"The support Carlton have given me over the years has been exceptional, and I am eager to see where the next few years take us. This group is incredibly connected, and I have enormous belief in the group to go to the next level," he said.

Sydney coach John Longmire says Josh Kennedy will do everything in his power to play again this year after the veteran was ruled out for eight to 10 weeks with a serious hamstring injury.

Kennedy tore his right hamstring while attempting a clumsy spoil as Sam Docherty went for a mark in Carlton's 15-point win on Friday night.

Sam Docherty will make his AFL comeback in Carlton's 2022 season opener against Richmond, just months after undergoing chemotherapy.

"It really is testament to the person and how resilient and determined he is," Carlton coach Michael Voss said.

"It wasn't all smooth sailing, he's had some hiccups along the way, but he persisted through it and he's been able to get this body of work in that's put him in this position to (return to football)."

Carlton is eyeing a remarkable early-season return for highly respected defender Sam Docherty, with the club bullish on its former co-captain's chances of making a prompt comeback to the game.

"He's absolutely desperate to get out a full season. Some of the ground he's made in the last month has come really quick. We also have to be cautious with that. He'll tell us how he's travelling," Blues coach Michael Voss said.

"We'll put the load to him and see what he can cope with, but certainly in the last month we've become more bullish with where he's at. We're certainly hoping that he has a fairly large say on the front-end of the season."

Patrick Cripps will be the sole of captain Carlton in 2022. Former co-captain Sam Docherty will stand down from captaincy duties for the 2022 season as he focuses on his recovery from testicular cancer.

Cripps will be supported by vice-captains Sam Walsh and Jacob Weitering.

"Since arriving at the Club, I have seen first-hand the incredible passion Patrick has to bring team success to this football club. Equally, both Jacob and Sam set the standards for work-rate and professionalism and have earned the opportunity to lead as co-vice captains," Blues coach Michael Voss said.

Sam Docherty steps down from captaincy duties at Carlton as he continues his recovery from a testicular cancer diagnosis.

"Our priority remains on ensuring we continue to provide support to Sam throughout this period, to allow him every opportunity to focus on himself, and enable the time required to get his body right," Carlton football boss Brad Lloyd said.

The #DoingItForDoc campaign has raised over $200,000 for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation.

What started as a goal among Carlton players to raise $5000 in support of their captain Sam Docherty - who has just completed chemotherapy treatment following the return of testicular cancer in August - quickly became a wave of goodwill from the entire football community.

The fundraising total hit $201,671 after a $2000 donation from Carlton's charity group, the Blues Foundation.

Carlton players pick up the clippers in a show of support for skipper Sam Docherty, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for testicular cancer. The initiative also aims to raise awareness and funds for the Peter Mac Cancer Foundation.

Sam Docherty will undergo chemotherapy after being diagnosed with testicular cancer for a second time and is expected to make a full recovery in time for pre-season training next season.

"It's obviously not the news we wanted to hear but the support I have from everyone around me in my family, friends and the footy club will get me through this next challenge," Docherty said.

"I am very fortunate this secondary diagnosis was detected early as part of a routine check-up. We now have a clear plan in place to get through this."

Sam Docherty may miss the rest of the 2021 season after undergoing surgery for a syndesmosis injury sustained in his ankle after being involved in a melee against Adelaide.

"Symptomatically, it didn't really show up like a syndesmosis injury until they went and got scans. It was a surprise, because we weren't expecting it," Carlton coach David Teague said.

"He was hobbling around, but that's been a trend of this injury. You can play out games and you feel alright, but when you cool down it gets quite sore. Unfortunately for us, he'll be unavailable for a while."

Sam Docherty undergoes surgery for a malignant testicular tumour after recently discovering a cancerous lump.

"The surgery went well and we're incredibly pleased that it's expected Sam will recover fully," Carlton head of football Brad Lloyd said.

"Obviously Sam's health remains the club's number one priority and we will continue to support him throughout this time."

Sam Docherty signs a two-year contract extension to remain at Carlton until the end of 2023.

“I’ve been at the football club for seven seasons now, I think I speak for every player in our group when I say that it is time to translate our hard work into success,” Docherty said.

“I have enormous belief in the way we are going about it, our hunger, our competitive edge, the standards we have set – that has all gone to a new level and we are seeing the results of that."

Every year for the last three seasons, Sam Docherty has circled round eight as his 100th-game milestone. After suffering season-ending injuries in 2018 and 2019, Docherty will finally play in round eight, and his 100th AFL match in this weekend's clash with North Melbourne.

"It's taken a fair bit longer than I thought it would. There's an added significance, definitely, because of the time I spent away from the game. I'd be lying if I said there weren't times during those two years where I didn't think I was going to get here in the end," Docherty said.

"It's exciting to be back and to be part of the team, so getting to the three-figures is a significant milestone for myself but also my wife back home. She's been through a fair bit of this stuff with me."

Sam Docherty says anyone contemplating football being part of their future should at least be giving those plans a rethink during the shutdown of the 2020 AFL season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Docherty had long planned to move into an assistant coaching role once his playing days ended but admits he is now unsure about that career path.

"I always thought I'd go into coaching, and an assistant coaching role, but it's definitely been the first time in a long time that I've reassessed whether that's going to be the actual path, and whether that's going to be a viable plan," Docherty said.

"We don't know exactly what the footy landscape is going to look like and how we're going to return and how the whole league's going to return, whether there are going to be as many coaches or less or whatever it's going to look like. I think anyone who was viewing football as a future would have to have a long think, and think about other alternatives if that's not going to be the path you're going to go down."

After 917 days on the sidelines, Sam Docherty will finally make his return to competitive action when Carlton meets Fremantle in its Marsh Community Series opener.

"He's building really well and it's exciting for him not just from a football point-of-view but also from a personal point-of-view," Carlton assistant coach John Barker said.

"When you're injured, the toll that can take and how lonely you can feel as an injured player at a football club - it's good that he'll get a bit of emotional nourishment from being able to play again and do what he loves."

Just a year after winning the NAB AFL Rising Star award, teenage sensation Sam Walsh has joined Carlton's leadership group.

Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty have been named co-captains for the second straight year, flanked by veterans Marc Murphy and Ed Curnow.

Another former No.1 draft pick, Jacob Weitering, and veteran defender Liam Jones join Walsh as the three new additions to the seven-man group.

"This is a significant step in the growth of our football club with our emerging generation of talent now ready to step into senior leadership positions," Docherty said.

"Weiters, Jonesy and Walshy are exceptional leaders in everything they do, whether it be on the training track, during games and living the values of our football club ? that is why they have earned their place in the leadership group.

"All three of them are born for the role, are quality Carlton people and we are excited to see them continue to grow as footballers and as individuals."

Sam Docherty remains on course to face Richmond in the opening round of the 2020 season.

The 26-year-old hasn't played for the Blues since 2017 due to back-to-back anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears, but has been receiving treatment from renowned reconditioning specialist Bill Knowles in Philadelphia as he targets a return to full training in mid-January.

"I probably won't train fully until mid-January, but I'll be in and out of certain things from day one," he said.

"We're taking as much risk out as we can before I need to put my body and knee at risk before playing practice games and getting ready for the season."

Carlton co-captain Sam Docherty sheds six kilograms ahead of his return to pre-season training as part of a tweaked rehabilitation program from his second successive knee reconstruction.

"I didn't come back too fat last year, but I came back a little bit too muscly from being in the gym and I was a little bit too top-heavy," Docherty explained.

"I've tried to trim down as much of that as I can, because in the end I don't need it. I need my legs to work properly and they don't need to be carrying an extra four or five kilos over the top of them.

"It's one of those things where there are so many things that could have been the difference and you may as well take as many of them off as you can. That was one of them that I felt was important for me."

Sam Docherty will head to the US to work with renowned knee specialist Bill Knowles in Philadelphia as part of his rehabilitation from successive knee reconstructions.

Knowles has acted as a key consultant for a number of American sporting teams, while he has also worked with an elite crop of prominent Olympic athletes, specialising in improving the mobility and strengthening the knee following serious injuries.

Michael Gibbons has made the most of his chance at AFL level after being overlooked several times in the draft.

Gibbons joined the Blues after a spot opened up on the Blues' list following an injury to Carlton co-captain Sam Docherty.

It meant he would have to quit his job laying carpet, while deferring his business management degree at university, for something that was by no means a sure-thing.

That in itself was a huge sacrifice and risk for someone who had come so close to realising his AFL dream countless times before, only to miss out on each occasion.

"I had to put my whole life on hold. But when they rang, straightaway I said, '100 per cent I'll do it'," Gibbons recounted.

"I was still pretty broken from missing out at the draft. I didn't want to put myself through that all again one more time, but to be fair this was the best opportunity I'd had – to train with a group of AFL players.

"I quickly spoke with my old man, I spoke with my manager and we said, 'let's do it'.

"I basically walked off the job, but my boss was great with it. He told me to put all of my eggs in this basket and go for it and it's all worked out from there."

As he continues his recovery from a knee reconstruction, Sam Docherty signs a one-year extension with Carlton to remain at the club until the end of 2021.

Docherty says he would like to make his comeback at the backend of 2019, although it would he highly unlikely.

"I can't push any harder than what I am. I have to stay safe and I have to keep my long-term future in order, so obviously signing on is an important part of that," Docherty said.

"I understood that it was going to be hard coming back this year anyway. From last year, I could've come back and played the last month and (this time) I did my knee a month later than I did before, so I always knew it was going to be a stretch.

"Like most footballers who want to get back and play footy, I'll always keep the door ajar."

Sam Docherty will undergo a traditional knee reconstruction after rupturing his ACL for the second time in just over a year.

"I'm pretty flat, but it is what it is. I'm at a stage where I've accepted what's happened. I'm ready to move on, get my surgery and my rehab started, punching that out and getting back as soon as I can," Docherty said.

"I went to the surgeon yesterday with one of the physios. We sat down and through his recommendation, we'll go with the traditional reconstruction again."

Sam Docherty suffers a second ACL injury at training in an innocuous incident, and is expected to require his second knee reconstruction in little more than a year.

"It's clearly a huge disappointment for Sam to experience such cruel luck, we are all feeling for him right now," Carlton head of football Brad Lloyd said in a statement.

"Our entire football club; players, coaches, staff, members and supporters will now support Sam to ensure he will complete his rehabilitation once again with the entire Carlton family by his side."

Carlton appoints dual skippers for first time in club history, confirming that Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty will take the mantle in 2019.

They will assume the role from Marc Murphy, who has stepped down from the position after leading Carlton as its sole captain for the last six years.

"When you think about being named captain of the club, it's probably something you could never really dream of. It’s surreal, but a huge honour," Cripps said.

"I try and lead by my actions and I really believe that leadership is something you can’t master, but you always try to improve. So the biggest lesson I learnt this year in that stand-in role was to lead by being true to yourself."

Docherty will co-lead the side despite having sat out for the entire 2018 season as he recovered from an ACL injury.

"Both Crippa and I have sat down and had really honest chats about how we’re going to take this group forward together," Docherty said.

"Despite our various differences in personality and approaches to leadership, we complement each other well and the main thing for us is our common goal to take this club back to sustained success."

Marc Murphy will skipper the Blues for a sixth consecutive season in 2018.

Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty are Murphy's new deputies in an eight-man leadership group including Kade Simpson, Ed Curnow and fresh faces Matthew Kreuzer, Alex Silvagni and Lachie Plowman.

After rupturing his ACL at training last month, Sam Docherty is determined to turn his wrecked 2018 into a year of positive personal development.

"There's plenty of positives to come out of having nine to 12 months off the field, and it's the opportunity to do things I've never done before and develop as a person," Docherty said.

"A former teammate of mine at the Lions, Brent Staker, who has been through a few of these, told me this will be the best year of my career in terms of developing as a person and as a player.

"He said I'll get more out of this 12 months than I would've thought."

Sam Docherty ruptures the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in a pre-season training session and will undergo a traditional knee reconstruction.

"Sam’s injury is incredibly disappointing for everyone but foremost for Sam," Carlton football manager Andrew McKay said in a statement.

"Sam is a total professional and a resilient young man and we know he will face his rehabilitation process with the utmost dedication."

Sam Docherty signs a contract extension with Carlton to remain at the club until the end of 2020.

Marc Murphy wins his second John Nicholls Medal as the Blues' best and fairest for 2017.

Murphy amassed 174 votes to edge out Sam Docherty (169) and Matthew Kreuzer (164).

"I'm enormously proud … to be a two-time winner of the John Nicholls Medal is pretty special," Murphy said.

"My family is probably enjoying it as well. I think my old man (John) won six best and fairests and my grandpa (Leo) won two, so I join them, which is good."

At the age of 30, Dennis Armfield has been added to Carlton's leadership group for the first time, taking the spot of the retired Andrew Walker.

Marc Murphy has retained the captaincy at the Blues with veteran defender Kade Simpson the vice-captain for the third year overall.

Patrick Cripps, Sam Docherty, Bryce Gibbs and Ed Curnow round out the seven-player leadership group.

"In 2016, we set about building leadership density across our list. This year, we are sticking to the roadmap and ensuring there is a consistent level of leadership across the board," Blues coach Brendon Bolton said.

"With only one change to our leadership group for 2017, we are building on the foundations that were set last season."

Brisbane captain Tom Rockliff says the Lions failed as a club when they let five first-round draft picks go at the end of 2013.

Jared Polec (Port Adelaide), Elliot Yeo (West Coast), Patrick Karnezis (Collingwood), Billy Longer (St Kilda) and Sam Docherty (Carlton) all asked to leave the club and were traded following the 2013 season.

"Obviously we lost a lot of high draft picks, which is probably our own fault looking back," Rockliff said.

"They all left for different reasons, but if you're a good organisation, a good club, you keep players like that."

Marc Murphy is reappointed as Carlton captain for 2016, but the Blues have overhauled their leadership group with the skipper and Bryce Gibbs the only survivors from the 2015 line-up.

In the new-look team, veteran Kade Simpson will take over as sole vice-captain from Murphy's 2015 joint deputies Bryce Gibbs and Michael Jamison.

Youngsters Patrick Cripps, 20, and Sam Docherty, 22, are among five additions to the 2016 group, as the Blues' next generation of leaders begins to emerge.

Hard-running midfielder Ed Curnow, 26, also joins the leadership team for the first time, while former members Simpson, 31, and Andrew Walker, 29, return after one-year absences.

Walker said Murphy had always loomed as the logical captaincy choice.

"After the tough year that we had and the amount of scrutiny that he copped I think the natural thing would have been for somebody to go into their shell," Walker said.

"But he has always stood up and really been at the forefront for the Carlton footy club. He copped a lot of scrutiny, but I think the way he was able to come out of it and the amount of confidence he's still got to lead the footy club is going to be great for us going forward."

Sam Docherty signs a new three-year deal with Carlton that will keep him at the club until the end of 2018.

"We see Sam as 200-plus gamer here, we him staying here for the long haul and for him to put pen to paper for three years is really positive for us," Carlton football manager Andrew McKay said.

"We're looking for some big improvement for the team between now and then and Sam will be a part of our journey in the next few years.

"Sam's a quality young player and a quality person too."

Sam Docherty will play against his former team the Brisbane for the first time when the Blues take on the Lions in round 11.

"I'm excited to do it, it will be a very interesting experience though," Docherty said.

"When you're on the field you don't really notice what the crowd's doing and if some of the players want to give me a bit of stick they can – it's completely up to them.

"I'm just going to try and play good footy and get back up there and play well."

Sam Docherty becomes a Carlton player after the Brisbane Lions traded the midfielder for pick No.33 in the 2013 NAB AFL Draft.

I can't wait to put the jumper on, it's a dream come true," Docherty said.

"Obviously growing up (barracking) for them and now getting here – I can't think of anything better."

Sam Docherty has told the Brisbane Lions he wants to come home to Victoria.

Docherty's manager, Matt Bain of Stride Sports Management, said his client had a positive meeting with new Lions coach Justin Leppitsch last week, but had subsequently requested a trade back to a Victorian club.

"Sam caught up with the Lions last week and had a really good discussion with 'Leppa' about his future," Bain said.

"Sam wants to be as respectful as possible to the Lions, but has decided the best place for him to continue his football career is in Victoria.

"Either way, he will get a fresh start back in Melbourne with family and friends or under 'Leppa' in Brisbane."

Sam Docherty has agreed to defer a decision on his football future as the Brisbane Lions make a last-ditch effort to convince the homesick Victorian to re-sign with the club.

"The Lions want the chance to convince Sam that their environment is the right one for him to further his career," Docherty's manager, Matt Bain of Stride Sports Management, said.

"Sam is at home at the moment, having a rest and chatting to his family.

"There's no reason why he has to make a decision yet. Sam doesn't want to rush his decision, he wants to get it right."

Homesick Brisbane Lions youngster Sam Docherty will fly home to Melbourne this weekend for discussions with family and friends as he prepares to make a decision on his future next week.

The out-of-contract rebounding defender is yet to commit to a move home and is focused on deciding whether to re-sign with the Lions rather than actively exploring opposition interest.

Sam Docherty makes his AFL debut for Brisbane at Docklands Stadium with 20 disposals (7 kicks and 13 handballs), 2 marks and a tackle in a 63-point loss to North Melbourne.

Brisbane Lions drafteee Sam Docherty has spent the entire pre-season in rehab but is expecting to be right for the home and away season.

"In the rehab group you have to do a lot of different stuff. It's mainly based around getting what you need done - that means not doing any more or any less," he said.

"Sometimes if you do too much, you will make the injury worse. And if you don't do enough, then you won't be right when you eventually come back."