Chris Heighington’s son got caught under a buggy

THE three-year-old son of a NRL player got caught under a buggy after running on to the field at the end of the Cronulla-Gold Coast clash. SEE THE VIDEO

’It was a pretty distressing sight’

CRONULLA players rushed to the aid of teammate Chris Heighington’s young son, Rocco, who became caught under a maintenance vehicle after the NRL side’s win over Gold Coast.

The three-year-old entered the field after the siren and was knocked over by the manned buggy, which was being used to collect signage at southern end of Southern Cross Group Stadium.

He was immediately treated by club doctors and went home with his parents.

“The doctor said he’s okay,” coach Shane Flanagan reassured in Sunday’s post-match press conference.

“I think they’re still checking him out. He’s only a little kid (so) you can’t tell them too much what’s wrong with him. So terrible, concerning. Hopefully he’ll be okay.”

Staff attempt to lift up the buggy.

Sharks winger Valentine Holmes was one of a number of players who rushed to Rocco’s aid and lifted the vehicle to allow the child to escape.

Skipper Paul Gallen was rocked by the incident.

“It was a pretty distressing sight,” he said.

“It didn’t look good but the boys were there pretty quickly, tilted the buggy on the side and got him out. I can’t imagine what Heighno must feel.

“It didn’t look great but as Flanno said, thankfully, it looks like he’s okay.”

For those concerned, Chris Heighington's son is with doctors & looking good. Thoughts are with Chris & his family #WeAreSharks

— Cronulla Sharks FC (@Cronulla_Sharks) April 10, 2016

Cronulla survived a Greg Bird-led onslaught to record a gutsy 23-18 win over Gold Coast, moving them into the NRL top four.

Bird was a man on a mission against his former club, rubbing Sharks No. 7 James Maloney out of the match with a brutal hit in the first half that landed him on report.

He almost ended Ben Barba’s afternoon early too, hitting him just as he retrieved a bomb.

“He flies close to the wind and he plays as hard as anyone,” Sharks skipper Paul Gallen said.

But despite being down to 15 men for the entire second half, the Sharks pulled out all the right stops at the death. First Chad Townsend broke an 18-all deadlock with a field goal in the 69th minute before Valentine Holmes sealed the 23-18 win with a try two minutes later.

Sharks prop Andrew Fifita was arguably his side’s best, running 116 metres in the second half alone and scoring a crucial try that helped them regain the lead.

“We only had 15 out there, we lost one (Maloney) for the majority of the game and in an important position in our halves, too,” Sharks coach Shane Flanagan said.

“I had Gerard Beale there on the bench and the disruption wasn’t great — it probably disrupted our kicking game if anything. But they handled it in the end.”

Titans coach Neil Henry rued Ben Barba’s questionable 90-metre try in the first half, where Maloney appeared to have knocked-on in the build-up.

Henry was also angered by the bunker’s decision to overturn a Fifita turnover late in the match.

“That is a big turning point because they went down and scored,” he said.

The victory lifts the Sharks to equal second on the NRL ladder alongside three other teams, while the Titans remain equal sixth but just outside the top eight.

Titans centre Nene Macdonald was also put on report for a crusher tackle on Wade Graham.

Originally published as Chris Heighington’s son got caught under a buggy