Australian Survivor: Phoebe Timmins pushes her luck with ‘go hard or go home’ gamble

BUSTING criminal cartels has clearly steeled the spine of Sydney lawyer Phoebe Timmins — but the bold strategy she employs was not quite what the 27-year-old had planned going into Australian Survivor.

BUSTING criminal cartels has clearly steeled the spine of Sydney lawyer and Survivor’s ballsiest contestant Phoebe Timmins — but her bold strategy, which plays out tonight (7.30pm, Ten) was not quite what the 27-year-old had planned going into the game.

As a long-time student of the Mark Burnett franchise, Timmins told TV Insider “a go hard or go home strategy” was her best shot at winning. She just didn’t expect to be playing so hard, so fast.

“I drew the short straw when the tribes swapped. To be honest, through most of the twists in the show, I kind of ended up on the wrong side of luck and to do well in Survivor you need a really good strategy game, but you also need some luck. I wasn’t doing well in the luck department … so I had to do something big to make sure it wasn’t me going home.”

Australian Survivor ‘strategist’ Phoebe Timmins. Picture: Channel 10/Nigel Wright

The tough-as-nails legal eagle used her analytical skills to her advantage but was not above a sneaky move or two.

“When I got to Aganoa and was sitting on the bottom, people would notice any bold moves and, on this occasion, it’s a big one but it was ‘go hard or go home’. I couldn’t hide what I did, so it outs me as a strategist,” she said.

With the girls impressing since this season started, Timmins wasn’t sure if that was a gender or a personality thing, but said “so far I haven’t seen any amazing strategy from the guys”.

Phoebe Timmins hasn’t been impressed by the boys. Picture: Channel 10/Nigel Wright

Her focus on the task of winning meant she was determined to put the harsh conditions and lack of good food and sleep out of her mind.

“I had the mindset it was my job to deal with it and yeah, it was hard not to be eating — I’m a massive foodie — as it was not sleeping and in the rain; but I went there for that and I was never going to let my emotions get the better of me, whether that be strategy or surviving the elements,” she said.

Once home, however, her weakness for peanut butter helped put back the 8kg she lost in Samoa.

“I was skinny and tanned for the first time in my life, but it lasted all of four days. I shouldn’t be telling the world, but I went through three tubs of peanut butter in a week … straight from the jar, it was pretty gross.”

Originally published as Australian Survivor: Phoebe Timmins pushes her luck with ‘go hard or go home’ gamble