WHEN Michael Voss says someone is “as tough as they come”, that should be regarded as the ultimate compliment.

It comes as no surprise that the player in question was Sam Docherty, who returned to the field after a shoulder injury in the second term to play a crucial role in Carlton’s stunning triumph.

Largely patrolling the wing before being pushed higher up the ground after Ollie Hollands was activated as sub, Docherty provided the two assists for the Blues’ final two goals, ensuring Carlton would be heading to Brisbane to take on his former side in a preliminary final.

Speaking immediately after the game, Voss said it was difficult to find the words to talk about someone who has earned so much respect from Carlton and football people alike.

“Incredible. It doesn’t surprise me with him though. I spoke to him at half time and said ‘what have you got’: he said ‘I’ll give you everything I have got’,” Voss said.

“It certainly wouldn’t feel right if we were forging ahead without him. I’m sure he’ll get to work pretty hard on what that shoulder is and get himself right for next week.”

The AFL Senior Coach doubled down on his comments the next morning, revealing that there’s been more than meets the eye with the Carlton veteran in recent months.

“We’ve talked about his story a lot. How brave and resilient he’s been, he just keeps bouncing. It’s just incredible what he’s been able to do,” Voss told SEN.

“Just when you think he can’t go anymore, he steps up. Many wouldn’t know this, but for about three or four weeks he was playing with a slight tear in his calf. We could manage it, but he was under some real duress when we lost some numbers through the midfield and he just kept turning up.

“You can’t do that without resilience.”

When all was said and done, Docherty - just like his Blues - weren’t to be denied. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but Docherty’s persistence through adversity was indicative of Carlton’s grit and heart which got the team over the line for the second straight week.

He was one of the top three Blues for games played (behind Patrick Cripps and Jacob Weitering) who broke their finals duck last weekend, and while the relief was clear last week, Docherty had no idea how to describe the post-semi final success feeling.

Yet he did say that while the odds were stacked against the Blues particularly late in the game, belief never wavered.

“It’s hard to explain, to be honest. That last 15 minutes was incredible. It was an amazing effort by the whole footy club and to be able to implement what we needed to late in the game, it was unbelievable,” Docherty said post-match.

“The feeling in the room, it was crazy. I’m incredible proud of the whole footy club.

“I just had this weird feeling that we were going to win! It was not based on anything other than the confidence in the group we’ve got, and the character of the group we’ve got. Amazing — it’s a win for everyone tonight.”

While the protagonist of the night in future years will always be Blake Acres for his match-winning moment, that doesn’t happen with Docherty’s work in the build-up — or the work of young Ollie Hollands to get it to him after Weitering’s aggressive play to initiate proceedings.

“I was rapt I was still out there.

“I saw two blokes free out the back and I just tried to get the old legs to sink the slipper into it. It was three locker buddies in a row, with Ollie to me to Blake: Nos.13, 14 and 15. It’s very funny how the game works in the end.

“Onto Brisbane next week!”