Carlton determined to send Docherty off a winner
While Carlton's finals hopes are over, they will be desperate to upset Hawthorn at the MCG on Thursday night and send Docherty off a winner.
Star defender Jacob Weitering, a close friend of Docherty, will also be celebrated when he lines up for his 200th game.
It's a special one tomorrow night.See you at the 'G 💫 pic.twitter.com/DtdO0r3ap1
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) July 23, 2025
Docherty has defied major adversity in his life to be an integral part of Carlton's past decade, also becoming one of the most popular and respected players in the AFL.
Voss has a special bond with the 31-year-old, having drafted him at the end of 2011 to become his first AFL coach at Brisbane.
Docherty had three coaches at Carlton - Mick Malthouse, Brendon Bolton and David Teague - before he was reunited with Voss in late 2021 as he was battling testicular cancer for a second time.
"Reconnecting with him ... he was white and bald and dealing with a really big life challenge," Voss said of Docherty's chemotherapy.
"Telling me he was going to play round one three months later, which I was more than happy to agree with but silently thinking 'no chance', but he did it."
Docherty's remarkable return for round one of the 2022 season, just nine months after starting chemotherapy, will go down as the defining moment of his career and one of the most inspiring in the AFL this century.
"Every time he set himself with that task, he's been able to do it," Voss said.
"There's some sort of resolve in there that not many have, and he's been able to dig deep a lot of times and find something extra.
"(The round one game against Richmond) it felt like one of the rare times the whole stadium comes together as one and it didn't matter who you barracked for, it was about that moment and that person.
"You don't get too many times in football and your career when you experience that, but that felt like a real powerful moment when he kicked that goal, and I think we were all standing up and barracking at that time."
"'Crip'. I'm sorry we don't get to share that moment together... I love ya."When breaking the news to the team, Sam Docherty had this emotional message for great mate Patrick Cripps... yep 🥺Full version to come. #ThankYouDoc pic.twitter.com/a8YCYn5EGG
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) July 22, 2025
Calling Docherty's Tuesday announcement "one of the better retirement speeches I've heard", Voss described him as "stubborn, resolute, confident".
"He won't end on the success that he so dearly wants for this club, that we all want," Voss said.
"He should know he leaves with a pretty powerful legacy that we get to build off the back of.
"It's pretty significant to be able to see what his journey was at the start."
In a boost for Carlton, star forward Harry McKay will return to face the Hawks after missing the past eight weeks with a knee injury.
But Voss confirmed star midfielder Sam Walsh will struggle to play again this season as he recovers from a foot injury.
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