IN NOVEMBER, it became public knowledge that Carlton co-captain Sam Docherty was diagnosed with a testicular tumour. 

After an unfortunate run with knee injuries, it was another blow to not only Docherty’s career, but his life as a whole. 

Docherty noted that he was in contact with former teammate Sam Rowe, who went through an identical situation a few years earlier. 

“It was quite funny, actually. I said to him, ‘Everyone seems to think this is character building, but I feel like my character has already been built enough,’ Docherty told The Herald Sun.

“I said ‘I must be going to have one hell of a character at the end of all this’.”

The surgery to remove the tumour was a success and Docherty is fit and fighting ready for the 2021 season. 

Taking the cards that he’s been dealt, Docherty has a new outlook on life, spending his first year back in the side and first year married in the Queensland and Perth hub. 

“I have always taken the sort of message of positivity and this is going to shape me to be a different person, and inevitably it does,” he said. 

“It changes your mindset; it changes your thought processes.

“I feel like I am a better person from it. It has been a bloody tough process and a bit of an unknown.” 

Among his positivity, Docherty has urged people to make sure they take their health seriously and get regular cancer checks. 

Now back in full training with his side, Docherty is keen to work towards the ultimate goal of Carlton making finals. 

“I think being able to be here (at Carlton) for the dip out (when the club was struggling) and then to be here as part of building this group, it’s exciting,” he said. 

“But we understand we need to earn the right to be there (in finals).”

Read the full chat with Docherty here (subscription required).