From navigating her alliances to crafting inter-tribe strategic plays following the tribal merge, Kirby consistently played her way to the top of the pack, with her authenticity and interpersonal skills quickly earning the respect of her fellow contestants.
"I really got to know people on a deeper level, which means that I connected on a level other than the surface level that you see around the camp, which then allowed me to walk up to somebody and say, 'I know we're not working together, but are you open to ---?'," Kirby shared.
"To be able to tap into the people skills and connect on their level... and try not to bring them into my game and what I was wanting. Suggestions helped a lot, and if they felt in control and empowered to run their game, even if I've suggested something, then I'm all in with them."
In the latter half of the game, Kirby joined forces with her former rival, Feras Basal, to forge a new alliance to catapult them both to the final two. Despite their cooperation creating some of Survivor's most seamless blindsides, Feras remained Kirby's strongest competition - a notion which he became all too aware of in the leadup to Kirby's elimination.
Reflecting on the duo's final strategy conversation, Kirby shared, "I thought that I had fed his ego enough to stay. I think the last comment, or last attempt, I made was [to say], 'No one here wants to stand next to me at the end because I don't think they think they can beat me.'"
"When he said, 'I'm not scared,' he looked at the jury and realised that maybe it wouldn't go his way, so I think that was a turning point [in my elimination].'"
Unfortunately for Kirby, her plan to stand alongside Feras in the quest for Sole Survivor did not come to fruition, with the former Rebel receiving four of the five votes at the tribal council.
While her elimination may come as a great surprise and disappointment for her new wave of loyal fans, Kirby hopes that her time on Australian Survivor will inspire those watching to embrace their next challenge.
"I hope that they can see what their capabilities are. This is more of an athlete's perspective, but you can't play the game like somebody else... Back yourself and go and play the game for what it's giving you, not for what the last season had."