A Gold Coast woman's search for a mystery man she met on a night out went viral on TikTok, only for internet sleuths to quickly identify him as an NRL player—before online commentary took a less lighthearted turn. Maddie Griffith met the man at the Pink Monkey bar in Burleigh Heads, and when a photo of the pair was posted online by her friend seeking help identifying him, it took less than an hour for social media users to name him as Gold Coast Titans player Arama Hau, 22.

Once identified, some commenters speculated Hau was already in a relationship and criticised Griffith for approaching a stranger without exchanging details, prompting her to clarify online that she had simply asked for a photo before parting ways. The confusion deepened when Hau himself commented on the post claiming a teammate, Luke Sommerton, was the man pictured, before deleting the remark—a move friends put down to him joking around rather than any guilty conscience. The Daily Mail has confirmed Hau is single, was single at the time the photo was taken, and, according to friends, did nothing untoward.