MANI Liddy copped it in the SANFL. Opponents told him, in no uncertain terms, he was only wearing the leg sleeve to poll votes in the Magarey Medal.

No one from Melbourne mentioned it on Sunday, but the mature-age recruit understands why people are interested. It's different. 

Less than three weeks after being recruited from Central District with pick No.16 in the AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft, Liddy made his debut for Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval in round 14, becoming only the second player in the Power's history to wear No.50 and the first to wear a single leg compression sleeve.

There is a legitimate reason why. 

GET YOUR SEATS Buy your tickets for Power v Swans HERE

Liddy was hospitalised after contracting sepsis from an innocuous incident against Norwood at The Parade last July. Two bouts of surgery and two nights at Gawler Emergency Department ensued, ruling him out for months before he returned in time for the finals, albeit looking different. 

Now the 23-year-old has gone from working as an air conditioning mechanic five or six days a week to starting full-time at Alberton to requiring approval from the AFL to wear a Skins garment. Life has changed rapidly this month, like it almost did 12 months ago. 

"It was at The Parade last year, a pretty wet night, pretty muddy, and I went to tackle someone and fell awkwardly on the back of their boots. It was bleeding a little and at three-quarter time I went and got it cleaned out, stitched up and finished the game," Liddy told AFL.com.au after his debut.

"Then the next day the doctor put me on antibiotics and my knee started blowing up. I could still walk on the Sunday, but I tried going into work on the Monday and I could barely walk that day. I went to training that night and it looked OK. But then on the Tuesday I couldn't put any weight through it, it was that painful. 

"The next day me and mum went to the hospital and they cut it open straight away and flushed it, just because the swelling and the infection was crawling up my leg, my groin was pretty red, so it got pretty high. 

"I spent two nights in hospital, had a couple of surgeries and the scar ended up a lot bigger than what it originally was because they had to check everything and clean the whole knee out properly. I sat at home for 10 days with my leg straight because of how awkward the spot is. It is on the side of my knee, so I couldn't bend it to let the scar heal. Missed five games at the end of last year, came back in the finals and that's where I started the leg sleeve.

"It split open a couple of times in the pre-season because I didn't wear the leg sleeve and it bleeds out because the skin is so thin on my knee. The leg sleeve protects it pretty well and looks all right."

Liddy didn't realise the severity at the time until the doctor explained how close he'd come to having his leg amputated. If he waited another day to go to hospital, the risks were extreme. The health scare didn't shock him into another level with his football, but it did elevate his dedication. He sharpened his diet, shaved 30 seconds off his 2km personal best and spent more time on recovery. 

The incremental gains added up. After a fast start to the SANFL season, Liddy was picked in the state team for the first time, where he won the Fos Williams Medal against the WAFL at Adelaide Oval in front of recruiters from across the AFL.   

"It [amputation] wasn't on my mind at the start, but when I went in, the doctor said I was pretty lucky to get in when I did because if I left it much longer it could have been amputated," Liddy said.

"Looking back, one of the first things I said to mum was, 'If we are cutting it off, I'm going to the Paralympics'. I wouldn't put it [getting drafted] down to the knee, but it played a factor. I had a pretty big off-season, fine-tuned things like my diet and the way I trained. Everything paid off and everything has happened quickly."

Liddy captained South Australia at underage level but was overlooked in the 2020 AFL Draft. He struggled for senior opportunities at Sturt, playing nine games in his first two years out of school, around 27 appearances in the twos for the Double Blues. 

After almost a decade at Sturt, Liddy chose to move to Central District at the end of 2022. He needed more opportunities. And he got them in Elizabeth, playing 19 league games in 2023 and 16 the following year, before taking the next step this year as a goalkicking midfielder.

"That was a massive decision," he said. "I spent my whole juniors at Sturt; I was there from the age of 12; then I got to seniors at 18, 19 and only played five games in my first year and four games in my second year.

"I knew I had to move if I wanted to do anything with my footy because I was stuck playing twos at Sturt and not going anywhere. I was sold before I went to [Central District]. It was a blue-collar club, real hard-working and pushed me to where I am now."

While the two other players Port Adelaide recruited in the Mid-Season Rookie Draft – Harrison Ramm and Ewan Mackinlay – have 18-month contracts with the Power, Liddy only has a six-month deal. It means he essentially has three months to convince the club he deserves more time to cement his status as a full-time footballer. 

Jed McEntee is still at Port Adelaide after being selected in the 2020 Mid-Season Rookie Draft, while Logan Evans has played 20 games since arriving at the Power midway through last season, recently inking a three-year extension to show Liddy what is possible if he makes the most of this opportunity.

"Logan is a great example," he said. "He has just signed a three-year deal. It gives blokes who missed out in their draft year good hope that you can still make a decent career out of footy if you miss out one or two times, or in my case, four or five times. There is still a chance."

Liddy completed a four-year air conditioning apprenticeship last year and will return to the trade when his time in the AFL is up. Getting here the hard way, he believes, has put him on a path to last longer. 

"I wouldn't change this path for anything," he said. "I think going and getting an apprenticeship and learning what it's like to actually earn your wage makes me appreciate the AFL lifestyle and the money that you're on just for playing footy, really. I wouldn't have it any other way."

LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker and Dwight Howard have all made the single leg sleeve a sartorial statement in the NBA. That's where Liddy got the idea from. He wasn't expecting it to become a thing in the AFL when he bought three for $40 off Temu last year. But if he continues to play like he did on Sunday, Port Adelaide will need to start selling them in the team shop at Alberton.