Craig O’Donoghue: Carlton’s selection of Sam Docherty for elimination final is brave, inspirational and crazy

Don’t pick injured players in finals. It’s an adage that has been pumped into coaches and footy clubs for decades. But when everything is on the line, it’s bloody hard to say no. Carlton’s decision to select Sam Docherty for Saturday’s elimination final against Brisbane will have everyone watching the game with their fingers and toes crossed. If the Blues win and Docherty plays well, it will be remembered as an inspirational decision by coach Michael Voss and further enhance the defender’s reputation as a man who can overcome anything. This is a bloke who has beaten testicular cancer. He’s a guy who has had three knee reconstructions. He’s the star who dislocated his shoulder during the second quarter of last season’s semifinal, came back on and drove the ball inside 50 for Blake Acres’ match-winning goal. If Docherty does something inspirational on the field or kicks a goal on Saturday, the Blues will get an incredible emotional lift. But if it goes wrong and his knee buckles, then Docherty, his teammates, coaches and fans will be shattered. It’s a huge call. Docherty has been a warrior for the Blues. But he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament on March 8. AFL players and fans have been educated that a knee reconstructions require extensive recovery time on the sidelines. Docherty’s teammate Jack Silvagni had his knee reconstructed in January and isn’t playing yet. Western Bulldogs star Bailey Smith tore his ACL in December. He’s not playing either. Neither is Brisbane’s Keidean Coleman who injured his knee on the same night as Docherty. A study in 2021 found that returning to action between 10-12 months after the surgery created the least risk of another injury. This is six months. That’s not to say it’s impossible. Carlton’s medical staff are experts. They’ve watched Docherty doing his rehab, getting fitter and being introduced back into training. They’ve done the risk assessment and given him the green light. If Docherty gets through the game unscathed, it will give hope to injured athletes around the country. Carlton’s problem has been they’ve suffered injuries at the wrong time of the year and they’ve had to make a stack of big calls this week. They’re not taking the risk of playing Coleman medallist Charlie Curnow after he failed to recover from an ankle injury suffered on August 11. Harry McKay injured his quad at the same time. He’ll play. Carlton has also named Mitch McGovern and Zac Williams after they both suffered hamstring injuries against West Coast on August 18. Tom De Koning hasn’t played since injuring his foot on July 21. He’s in. Then there’s Adam Cerra who has had multiple hamstring injuries this season and last played on August 3. He’s been picked too. They’re big names and there is no tomorrow for the loser. It would have been intriguing to see what the team would have looked like if the Blues had a double chance. This is a game of risk versus reward. The risks are huge. The reward is enormous. Geelong took a vastly different approach on Thursday night. They flew to South Australia without Tom Hawkins, Sam De Koning or Cam Guthrie. They’ll all play in the VFL on Saturday morning. The club then withdrew Tom Stewart due to illness - although he spent the week under a fitness cloud after injuring his hamstring in round 24 and coach Chris Scott admitted he may not have played anyway. Scott hates taking risks with injured players. He pulled Max Holmes out of the 2022 grand final despite him passing every fitness test on his hamstring during the week. Sydney punted on Sam Reid’s fitness in the 2022 grand final despite subbing him out of the preliminary final with an adductor strain. Reid touched the ball only four times in the grand final before getting subbed out again. Scott and Voss lived through the emotional build-up of a grand final injury in 2003 when teammate Nigel Lappin had broken ribs. Voss was captain. Scott was the emergency. He was dressed, warmed up and ready to go just 30 minutes before the start of the match when the Lions made their call. Lappin played, Brisbane won, Voss held up the cup and Scott missed out on a medal. Injured players can’t accuse him of not knowing what they’re living through. It’s ironic that Brisbane’s first flag came in 2001 when Essendon took injured stars James Hird and Mark Mercuri into the 2001 grand final. They both managed only 10 possessions and the Lions ran away with the game in the second half. Richmond’s decision to pick Marlion Pickett to make his AFL debut in the 2019 grand final was wild. But Pickett was best on ground in the VFL grand final the previous week. He was the most in-form player when the Tigers lost Jack Graham. GWS risked captain Phil Davis with a split tendon in his calf that day and paid a high price as Jack Riewoldt booted five goals. Lachie Whitfield also played less than a fortnight after having appendix surgery. He was a shadow of the star he usually is, winning only 14 disposals. Coaches make decisions on injured players every week. But the Docherty call is next level - fingers crossed.