Former Bronco Lachlan Maranta has been praised for saving the life of a young boy at a Gold Coast beach over the weekend, while on a training camp with the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

The Intrust Super Cup star was training at Burleigh beach on Saturday afternoon with his teammates, when the child found himself in trouble after he became stuck in a hole in the water.

The Wynnum Manly playing group, who had already been made aware of the sudden drop in the surf, were training nearby and witnesses reported that Maranta quickly swam to the boy's aid and carried him to safety.

Former surf lifesaver Erin Lee was walking along the beach when she saw the boy slip below the surface of the water.

Miss Lee - who reached out to The Courier-Mail about the incident - was the one who drew Maranta's attention to the boy, with the former Queensland Red confirming the news yesterday.

"I looked up and saw (Miss Lee) and I was a bit confused as to why she running towards the water fully clothed," he said.

"I looked over and there was a boy about six or seven years old with his hand up, screaming. Being in the water, I was closer than her so I just sprinted over.

"Those natural instincts just kicked in. I knew there was a hole in the surf where it was too deep to stand so I was lucky enough to grab him and I took him back to the sand.

"He was a bit upset but I think it was the shock of it all. Once we got him to calm his breathing down, he seemed to recover pretty quickly."

The 28-year-old said several teammates, including Sebastian Winters-Chang and Tom Farr, helped with the rescue while Miss Lee said she was "incredibly thankful" that Maranta was strong enough to pull the boy from beneath the water as she would not have been able to do it herself.

Lifeguards helped reunite the boy with his mother, who was reportedly shaken up by the incident.

The rescue comes just days after Broncos stars Matt Lodge, Ben Te'o and Jordan Riki pulled off a dramatic citizen's arrest on the Sunshine Coast to save a woman from a domestic violence incident.

Wynnum Manly CEO Hanan Laban, who was also at the beach at the time, said he was proud of his players for the role they played.

"I feel for the family," the club CEO said.

"That would have been a scary moment but thankfully our guys were able to see the boy in distress.

"It's pleasing to see that they were in the middle of a training session but were able to quickly divert their attention to rescue someone in the public.

"It shows they're a good group and obviously community minded. They can see there's more important things than what's right in front of you."

Wynnum Manly were at Burleigh over the weekend for a short training camp ahead of the start of the Intrust Super Cup season in March.

Originally published as Ex-Bronco saves young boy in dramatic beach rescue