Australian Survivor 2018: First 7 Contestants and Teaser Revealed

It’s time to brush up on your crab metaphors and mix up a batch of mimosas – the Australian Survivor preseason is officially underway for 2018! 

This year will be the first themed edition of Australian Survivor, and will see castaways divided into two tribes of ‘Champions’ and ‘Contenders’. Check out the initial teaser for the upcoming season below!

Are you a Champion or a Contender? Australia, it's time to choose a side 💪🔥 #SurvivorAU pic.twitter.com/Nn1cq99ZiE

— Australian Survivor (@Survivor_AU) June 23, 2018

A great deal of skepticism has been voiced amongst Aussie Survivor fans in the off season about the Champions V Contenders premise, fearing that the game could be hijacked by mediocre celebrities. However, the beauty of Survivor is that real world status generally matters for naught once the game is underway. The integration of ‘everyday’ Aussies with public figures in the context of a ruthless game will likely reveal the core motivations that are shared between all human beings. Plus, if the casting team have even been able to come close to matching their efforts from last year, this season is bound to be an absolute treat!

So without further ado, the first seven competitors announced for Australian Survivor: Champions V Contenders are…

Champions Tribe

Moana Hope, AFLW Marquee Player

A celebrated and powerhouse player for Women’s Aussie Rules Football, Moana made a name for herself on the field as one of the leading goal kickers in the league. An accomplished junior sportswoman, Moana represented Victoria in cricket and Australian Rules, but decided to give up the summer sport in order to concentrate on footy. One of 14 kids, Moana’s family means everything to her. She is the primary carer for her younger sister, Lavinia, who suffers from Moebius Syndrome, a rare neurological condition.

Damien, Former Special Forces Commando

Damien is an Australian Veteran from the war in Afghanistan where in 2009, an explosion resulted in him losing both legs and suffer other extensive damage to his body. His commitment to recovery and rehabilitation saw him master the use of his prosthetic legs and go on to compete in two Invictus Games in wheelchair basketball, walk the Kokoda Track and compete in numerous sporting competitions. Damien is also a best-selling author, actor and motivational speaker.

Mat R, Dual Code Rugby International

Mat Rogers originally made his mark on rugby league as a standout player for the Cronulla Sharks for six years. After success representing Queensland and Australia, Mat changed codes to Rugby Union in 2001 where he went on to represent Australia with the Wallabies in 45 test matches. In 2007, Mat returned to league to play for the new Gold Coast Titans before retiring from sport in 2011. Mat now devotes his time to another passion – raising money and awareness for children with autism via his foundation, 4 ASD.

Shane Gould, Swimming World Record Holder

An Australian legend in the swimming pool, Shane is sporting royalty and one of the world’s greatest female swimmers. Between 1971 and 1973, she broke 11 world records in six different events and is the only woman ever to win five individual Olympic medals. Controversially retiring at the age of 17 and at the height of her success, Shane has gone onto raise four children, earn two degrees from the University of Tasmania, become an author and a passionate photographer.

Contenders Tribe

Jenna, FIFO Supervisor

Working as a supervisor in the mines in Western Australia for the past six years, Jenna happily embraces adventure. An active NFL and AFL player, Jenna is a typical outdoors girl tearing around the bush on her motorbike or wakeboarding. Besides her passions outdoors, Jenna is also a proud mum and counts her daughter as her greatest motivation to achieve.

Robbie, Construction Manager

Robbie has been determined from a young age, competing at a national level in swimming on top of completing his studies. Since jumping out of the pool, Robbie held down three jobs while completing his Masters in Architecture and has now progressed to Construction Manager after years of putting in the hard work and long hours.

Tegan, Management Consulting

Even though Tegan’s hometown of Broome is quite isolated, this WA mum of two is well-travelled including riding down Bolivia’s Death Road as one of her most memorable adventures. An experienced camper and fisherwoman, Tegan is looking forward to pushing her outdoor skills to the next level with building shelter and starting fires from scratch.

Time to get hyped!

And that rounds out the first seven castaways who have been revealed for Season 3 of Aussie Survivor. What are your thoughts so far? At risk of being labelled un-Australian for not backing the underdogs, I’m on board the Moana Hope train at this early stage. She emits the aura of a strong and complex Survivor player.

Stay tuned over the coming weeks for more Australian Survivor news and original content. Once the full cast has been revealed we’ll be diving straight into our detailed first impressions series, and making our opening set of predictions for the season. It is so exciting to be back in the Aussie Survivor commentary game!

Australian Survivor is coming soon to TEN and tenplay.

Tristan Kelly is a 29 year old ex-doctor turned writer, based in Perth, Western Australia. During his final year of medical school he famously watched and analysed every available episode of Survivor (all 368 of them at the time), probably making him more qualified as a Survivor commentator than he ever was a doctor. In between writing and editing, he now spends most of his time organising various schemes and fantasising about one day winning the game.