‘Heighno’ lauded by his old mate
CHRIS Heighington had a knack for updating his own Wikipedia entry. “Deadset,” says former teammate Robbie Farah, “Heighno changed his age on Wikipedia to make people think he is younger. “He is 37 in January but for many years he had everyone believing he was born in ’83 not ’82, so when it came to negotiating contracts he was trying to make people think he was younger than he was. “Me and Dene Halatau picked up on it. I was like, ‘Mate you’re two years older than me not one’ and he was like, ‘Shh … it’s probably worked.’” A “Chris Heighington age” Google search shows the Knights veteran as 35, not 36. Heighington announced his retirement this week with 334 games to his name but, Farah said, he was lucky to make it past the Tigers’ 2005 grand final celebrations. “He got drunk in about 45 minutes and tipped a beer over Paul Sironen’s head,” Farah said. “We had to take him home and put him to bed about two hours later ... he didn’t last too long.” Farah and Heighington will play against each other for the final time tonight. The close mates spent a decade together at the Tigers before Heighington was forced out. “If you go and ask everyone who has played with him they’ll tell you he has had just as much impact off the field as he has had on it,” Farah said. “I remember when he came here to the Tigers no one knew much about him … he just forced himself into the team with his work ethic.” If Heighington finishes the season injury-free, he will end his career as the seventh most capped player in NRL history.