A CLASH with a cause.
All eyes of the football world will be on the MCG this Thursday night, when Carlton takes on Collingwood in the Peter Mac Cup.
For Sam Docherty, whose story as a Peter Mac patient and now Board member of the Foundation has been oft-told, the opportunity to be part of the two great rivals going toe-to-toe is one which he will never get tired of.
Speaking to media from the Peter Mac Breakfast on Monday morning, this is what he had to say.
On what the Peter Mac Cup means to him:
“It’s one of the longest-standing charity matches in the AFL, and my role at Peter Mac with the Foundation as a Board member is it now sits in my bucket of things to sort out. It’s exciting. To play for something outside of footy and something bigger than us all, I love the moment of Carlton-Collingwood, one of the biggest rivalries in the game but having both clubs and both fanbases take a stand.
“To be about something bigger than all of us is something pretty special to play in. My personal connection both as a patient and as a Board member, I’m very privileged. I get to see some of the amazing stuff we do there, to be able to come out every year and get such a great turnout today - plus a great turnout on Thursday night - it’ll be fun to play in.”
On the role it plays in football’s grand scheme:
“It’s a really important piece of it. Everyone spoke about it today, but the impact you can have bigger than footy is something we as players and both football clubs pride ourselves on. To have little touch points, the Pies boys went to the hospital last week and we are there tomorrow. You get an understanding of how important it is to people, and one of the big reasons I play footy these days is to instil hope in people that can feel hopeless at times.
“When you’re in the crux of your treatment, understanding that some of these moments and these games and seeing people do things after their treatment is something that gives so much hope to so many. We’re very privileged as AFL players and football clubs to put this up in lights, and both footy clubs have been outstanding in what they’re trying to bring to the game before it and when it all comes down to it, we’ve got a game to play.”
On chats he has around his cancer journey:
“More people talk to me about my journey than my football these days, to be honest. I’m very lucky, I speak about this a fair bit. It’s opened me up as a person, my perspective on football and life. I get to see some of the grim parts of health and wellbeing, but also get to see the stories of triumph where people get through their journeys. We hear so many stories of people that have been touched by it.
“We had Anthony Rocca speak today and he’s off to get treatment after this. Those inspiring stories of people doing really good things in the community and going through their own journey of cancer is something really inspiring. The more I speak to people, the more people you come across and you realise how big of an impact this has on everyone. We’re very, very lucky in what we do as AFL players to provide a platform for something bigger than what we are.”
On pressure following a slow start:
“There’s always pressure externally, whether you’re winning or losing. We haven’t started the season as well as we’d like, that’s pretty evident. There are parts of our game that are going to quite well, but parts of our game that we need to get to work on. That has cost us a few weeks in a row, but we as a footy club are pretty bullish on what we can do, and that our footy stands up in the big moments, big games and big finals.
We’ve got some stuff to work on, and we’re working through that at the moment, but we’re hoping we can go out there on Thursday night and put a better performance in than we have in the last few weeks.”
On the response of the Carlton fanbase:
“We’re very lucky we’ve got some very passionate fans, to be honest. They ride the highs and lows as much as we do as players, and we’ve seen the positive side of that in the wave of momentum when we start winning games. The Blues fans are enormous in pushing us along the line. We also understand the frustrations - we’re frustrated as well.
“Parts of our game are going really well, but the most frustrating part is when we’re not using the ball very well, which is a big part of what’s going on. We’ve got some work to do, and we’re not shying away from that. But it’s a long year, we’re at Round 3 and we’ll keep ticking along.”
On Patrick Cripps:
“I think he’s regretting trying to jump off the ground and take a hanger, I’ve never seen him jump that high - he’s not used to coming back down on it. He’s going okay, we’re on a short turnaround but he’s the ultimate professional. He’ll be fine. He’s here this morning, so he can’t be too sore or sorry for himself.”
On Harry McKay and Elijah Hollands:
“They’re both going well, they’re both on their journey that they’re working through. They’re at the footy club and training, and the conversations I’ve had with them, they’re in a good spot - understanding that these things are never linear and what’s around the corner with mental health stuff. Around the football club, we’re supporting them and it’s great seeing them with a smile on their face and doing what they love. Hopefully it continues.”
On fixing skill errors:
“You’ve just got to get to work on it, it’s multi-faceted. There are the options to give the ball carrier the best opportunity to hit the targets and provide targets, but it’s also the guy with ball in hand to have the composure - when the pressure comes in big games, that’s a tough thing to do. We’re working on it on both sides, being the ball carrier and also providing options to assist in making easy decisions.
“It’s not like we can’t do it, that’s the problem. We worked really hard over pre-season, but for whatever reason at the start of the season, we’ve gone away from playing it consistently within games. We can do it and we’ve done it in parts of games, but the reality is we haven’t stuck it through for long enough to get the result.”
On performances in second halves:
“There’s elements of it, the back-end of games we haven’t been playing the way we should be - offensively, definitely. That contributes to speeding up the other team: offensive ball movement and defensive patterns are so linked, often our offence is then fuelling their offence of the back of it. We’ve got some stuff to work through, but we’re very confident in what we’re doing - we’ll be okay, we’ve just got to work through it.”
On the Carlton-Collingwood rivalry:
“The passion of some of our ex-players for their hatred of the Pies is really funny to see. Hearing [Eddie McGuire] hates us the other way is great to know. I’ve been a Carlton supporter my whole life, I’ve rode these games for a long time. It’s a huge rivalry, there used to be a bit more when Carlton players would go to Vic Park and try to get out of the carpark.
“It’s an amazing game. These days we get the massive crowds and big build-ups that feel like finals games, they prep us for the big moments at the time of year you want to be playing at. We’re very privileged to be able to play in it. Hearing the stories of ex-players and ex-Carlton people adds to the flavour of the game.”
On embracing the ‘underdog’ tag:
“Football is funny that anyone can beat anyone. These big games when you’re paying big Melbourne teams, having played in a fair few of them, they’re always tight. We were pretty bad for a fair period, and we were still with the Pies into the last quarter. Often these games play right to the back end, so you’ve got to be prepared for a hard, physical game. It doesn’t matter where the team is sitting on the ladder, favouritism is disregarded for these ones.”
