Why _____ won Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders

Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders has given us the oldest winner out of any version of Survivor! How was she able to pull it off?

At the beginning of this year’s Australian Survivor, no one would have picked Shane Gould to go all the way. She struggled during challenges early on, was on the outs of her tribe and foolishly misplayed her Hidden Immunity Idol.

In all honesty, if you were to list the top castaways of this season in terms of gameplay, Shane probably wouldn’t make the top five! So how did the 61-year-old gold medalist win the title of Sole Australian Survivor? Well, two main factors were going for her.

1) Sneaky good social game. When someone like Shane makes it to the end, they’re often labeled as a “goat” who did nothing but ride coattails. However, Shane had a deceptively strong strategic presence, especially post-merge. Unlike typical coattail riders, Shane had the ability to influence the votes. The best example of this was her move to blindside Lydia.

Throughout pre-merge challenges, Lydia proved to be one of the strongest physical competitors in the game. She was a challenge beast, and Shane picked up on the danger of that. While Shane basically dropped out of the first Individual Immunity Challenge, she took that opportunity to plant seeds for a blindside. One by one, as members of the former Champions tribe were eliminated from the challenge, Shane would discuss with them the plan to vote out Lydia.

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Betsided

What makes this move so great is that Shane was able to plan and execute this blindside as someone who was on the outs of the dominant Champions alliance. She was able to persuade Steve, Sam, and Matt; the brains behind the most powerful alliance in the game, to blindside one of their closest allies. What a brilliant strategic move this was in getting rid of a serious threat!

The numbers began to turn late in the game, and by Day 43 Shane’s alliance was outgunned two to four. That’s when her sneaky social game went into overdrive! For the next two votes, Shane was able to get into Brian’s head by deceiving him during every conversation they had. Her sly social skills moved Brian to misinterpret her intentions, leading to back-to-back Tribal Councils that saw Shane’s minority alliance surprisingly survive.

2) Jury management. While Shane’s gameplay put her in a position to win Australian Survivor, it was her skillfully played Final Tribal that won her the title. And let’s be honest, Sharn stinking it up in the end also played a big role in Shane being the Sole Survivor.

Concerning opening speeches, Shane couldn’t have done any better. I was really impressed by her ability to explain her big strategic moves and how they benefited her position in the game. That being said, Shane knew her strengths and weaknesses, so instead of painting herself as a strategical mastermind, she stayed honest by focusing on her loyalty and growth as a player during the game.

Shane’s genuine attitude played a significant factor during Final Tribal. While Sharn was stuttering to find excuses for her mistakes, Shane confidently silenced any hate that came her way. A perfect example of this was when Shonee complained about Shane not even knowing the basics about her. Shane responded immediately by stating where Shonee lives and what she does throughout the year. She then commented on her appreciation for Shonee and Fenella’s game, having Matt on the jury testify to that.

Shane’s heartfelt expressions to Shonee and Fenella proved to be the turning point of Final Tribal, as she was able to earn both of their votes. Plus, it makes a big impact when you have members of the jury validating your claims while the other finalist is taking shot after shot.

Another crucial point during Final Tribal was when Brian and Sam asked heavy hitting questions to Shane to confirm Sharn’s disloyalty. Once again, Shane stayed true to herself by speaking the truth without throwing Sharn under the bus.

When comparing the two finalists, it was clear that Sharn was the bigger physical threat and the more crafty strategic player as well. The one area that Shane seemed to excel in was her loyalty to her alliance. Sharn’s fatal flaw was deciding to champion her own loyalty when that was the only thing her fellow finalist did better than her.

So when we look back at Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders, Shane Gould might not be the first person we remember. Maybe it’s Matt’s dominance in building a powerful alliance or Benji’s bold strategic move at Tribal Council. Or perhaps we think of Brian being able to take out the big threats and go from the bottom to the top in just a few days.

The fact is, Shane didn’t play the best game, and she made some bonehead mistakes. However, her underrated social game and effective jury management proved to be enough to sway the votes her way. So yes, Shane Gould isn’t the best Survivor player, but she was able to rise to the occasion and outplay people half her age to get to the end. Shane Gould earned her title as the Sole Australian Survivor!