Carlton defender Sam Docherty melted the hearts of AFL fans when he hit the scoreboard tonight in his return from a cancer battle.
During the second quarter of Carlton’s Round 1 match against the Tigers, Docherty was the recipient of a costly 50-metre penalty against Shane Edwards.
The 28-year-old was handed the perfect opportunity to extend Carlton’s lead with a shot from 35 metres out and directly in front, which he made no mistake of.
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The moment resulted in a loud roar from the MCG crowd as Blues teammates flocked to congratulate the defender.
“If that doesn’t give you goosebumps, what a wonderful moment,” said Jason Bennett in commentary for Channel Seven.
“A huge big surge of emotion… welcome back Sam Docherty
“They say tough times don’t last, but tough people do.”
Former Bulldogs star Luke Darcy added: “That is a magic moment”.
Docherty underwent chemotherapy after a routine check-up in August showed testicular cancer had returned.
Last year the defender had 12 weeks of chemotherapy after the cancer returned following its initial discovery in November 2020.
Docherty missed both the 2018 and 2019 AFL seasons due to two ACL ruptures before he was diagnosed with cancer in 2020.
Collingwood midfielder Taylor Adams was among many to flock to social media and celebrate the comeback of Docherty.
https://twitter.com/taylor_adams13/status/1504390692206166017https://twitter.com/DylanAlcott/status/1504387103810936834https://twitter.com/QuentinHull/status/1504387047876100096https://twitter.com/SClapin/status/1504386935191588864https://twitter.com/petryan/status/1504386787594014724
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