Michael Martlew takes the ball into contact, slamming into an opponent with a thud.

"He loves the hits," grins his twin Scott, from the sideline at Christchurch's Burwood Park..

He's tough too, adds the 22-year-old, pointing out his brother is playing for Shirley despite breaking a bone in his kicking foot seven days earlier.

Post-match, Michael Martlew downplays his discomfort – resilience is clearly a family trait.

The brothers first played together in the under-9s and progressed through the grades at Shirley Boys' High School.

They might even have been in the same line-up on Saturday had Scott Martlew's rugby career not been ended by what he assumed was an innocuous knock.

Unperturbed, he ran off an accidental headbutt to his thigh during a curtain raiser to Crusaders and Brumbies Super Rugby clash at AMI Stadium in May 2010.

Then the game day adrenalin faded and four days later the lock was in ICU at Christchurch Hospital as necrotising fasciitis claimed his left leg, part of his buttock, and very nearly his life as he lay in an induced coma.

"It was just like a normal bump to the leg," said Martlew, who thought he just had a 10cm tear on his quad after an initial scan. The pain intensified, he felt nauseous and wisely returned to hospital where the deadly flesh-eating bacterial disease was diagnosed.

"I didn't know what was going on. I was in a coma for just under a month, I woke up and they said they'd had to amputate the leg."

A member of South Brighton's surf boat crew and an aspiring Olympian, Martlew could have plumbed the depths. Instead, he re-invented himself as a canoeist and trying to qualify for next year's Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

"I had a lot of support around me, which helped a lot. I had my mates coming in saying 'we'll get you back into the boat, back into surf lifesaving'," he said.

Nick Sullivan, for example, brought a paddle to Martlew's ward as he recuperated.

Remarkably, he used the oar 10 months after his surgery when South Brighton claimed gold and silver at the surf lifesaving nationals at Mt Maunganui.

"The balance wasn't too bad in the surf canoe. It's a double-hulled boat, it's quite stable," he said.

Martlew conceded it was challenging to adapt to his own kayak, a pursuit he focused on once para-canoeing was added to the programme for Rio.

"The height of the seat make you more tippy the higher you go, so I took the seat out and sat on a towel to start with."

That tactic has been effective as Martlew is poised to compete at the Canoe Sprint World Championships for the fourth time, although a funding cut has muddied the waters.

Martlew learned earlier this year Canoe Racing New Zealand had pulled back because he was not considered a realistic medal chance in Brazil.

The community has rallied again, principally through a Givealittle page to enable his trip to Italy in August. Donations reached $5125.

"I'm starting to see that same support now as I did after the injury," he said.

Martlew was eighth in the K1 200 in Moscow last year but improved to seventh after Ukrainian bronze medallist Yuriy Kikhayev was disqualified and banned for doping.

That result might not have impressed the clock-watchers at Canoe Racing New Zealand but it has inspired him to make the top six and qualify for Brazil when the championships get under way in Milan.

"I know I'm close to qualifying for the Games – about 0.3 of a second will get me on to the podium at the worlds."

To bridge that gap, Martlew travels 150 kilometres a week on the Avon River. He is working out by 6.15am, four days a week. Leg work is the priority because he can't wear a prosthetic when competing.

"My amputation is too high," said Martlew, who prefers to use crutches.

"Some guys have a socket they can put their leg into. In kayaking, you get your power from your foot drive so I'm at a disadvantage."

He could benefit from a reclassification process.

Martlew was in the LTA (limb/trunk/arms) category but now expects to be a KL3 – a designation that eliminates canoeists with hand and neurological impairments.

Back at Burwood Park, it's effectively game over for Shirley by half time but Martlew puts on a brave face.

Asked if it was difficult to watch the code which inadvertently provided so much heartache, he replied: "Yeah . . . kind of. There were times when I thought 'Why did this happen?' But you move on and think about what you can do now.

"I do feel like getting out there. It's hard to stand on the sidelines sometimes."

Michael Martlew appreciated the support and credited his brother's mental strength: "He's never let it faze him."