“I loved every minute of being part of a blindside and, to go down in such a way, it’s a real compliment,” he told WHO over the phone.
“Being such a big threat in the game, to have not just your tribe, but your own alliance, and half the other tribe bid to take you down like that … that’s pretty cool,” he laughed.
Simon’s epic exit seems to be a badge of honour for the carpenter, who was a super-fan of the show when he joined the cast for 2021.
“There are a lot of people who haven’t watched the show before, and having the knowledge of what’s coming up – it is a blessing and a curse,” Simon admitted.
“Being a fan … information is always going to be more valuable to you, and it helps you map out your next decision based on the potential twists, and what can happen.
“There was no one I was specifically trying to replicate or emulate, but you do take different parts of people’s games and go, ‘oh wow, that was really cool, I need to try and do that if I can…,” he explained.
Although he wasn’t trying to emulate any of them in particular, a lot of Australian Survivor alums are quite taken with Simon, cementing his place among the fandom as a strong and memorable player.
David Genat, who won Australian Survivor: All Stars last year, went as far as to post a photo of Simon getting eliminated, overlayed with footage from The Godfather where Vito Corleone says, “look how they’ve massacred my boy.”
“Took it like a champ mate, such short-sighted game play,” David also commented on Simon’s Instagram post where he reflected on the experience.
“@davidgenat the scorpion and the frog my man 🐸,” Simon responded.
Although Simon has been “overwhelmed with the amount of support” Australia has shown him, he is no longer in the running for sole survivor, and told us who his top picks were for the winner of the season.
“I’d love to see Emmett go on as a challenge beast,” he said.
“I’d also love to see Wai – I had such a beautiful connection with her, and she’s such a lovely soul. She’s done very well avoiding being wiped out from the bottom.”
“But then – I either want Dani to go the distance, or to fail miserably,” he laughed.
Just like Simon, we’ll be watching eagerly to see who takes out the title this year.
