Sharn Coombes

**Episodes** | 25 (Champions v Contenders (2018))
 **Placement** | 2/24 (Champions v Contenders (2018))

**Sharn Coombes** is a contestant from Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders (2018) and Australian Survivor: All Stars.

During her initial run in *Champions v Contenders*, Sharn focused on playing a loyal game but, in doing so, would cause Champions outsiders Brian Lake and Monika Radulovic to flip at the merge. This would lead to the blindside of Sharn's closest ally Mat Rogers. Relegated to the bottom, Sharn attempted to pay favor to any and all she could, allowing her to claw her way into the Final Two alongside Shane Gould. Her inability to admit fault for her mistakes or take ownership for moves made during the game, however, would ultimately cause her to lose favor with the jury, resulting in Shane beating her in a close 5-4 vote.

Returning for *All Stars*, Sharn was determined to not repeat history. She would quickly find herself in a swing position at post-swap Mokuta, ultimately deciding to side with power player David Genat over Nick Iadanza. Going into the merge, she would again be put in a swing position when Jacqui Patterson propositioned flipping sides to the old Vakama alliance. A last-minute decision would lead to Sharn backing out of the plan, sending Jacqui packing instead. Fearing that she would end up making the same mistakes as in *Champions v Contenders*, Sharn decided to stay fiercely loyal to David, even knowing the threat level he presented. This risk-averse gameplay would lead to her be seen as a pawn for David and Moana Hope by the jury and, after reaching the Final Tribal Council for a second time, lost the game once again after the jury deemed David's gameplay bolder and overall more deserving than hers.

## Profile

*Retrieved from 10play.com.au*

* All Stars

**Age:** 41
**Occupation:** Criminal Barrister
**State:** VIC
**Tribe:** Champions
If anyone can claim to be ready to address their tribemates in the final Jury, it would be Criminal Barrister Sharn.
Her daily life sees her addressing juries in criminal trials and is known in her industry as being one of the best. As one of the top female prosecutors in the country, Sharn can't wait to get in front of the *Survivor* jury.
"I think the skills I have developed in my professional life will translate well in this environment. I would be obviously thrilled to get to the Jury and address my fellow tribemates because I really think that's where I'll shine. Proving my case is what I do every day."
A mum of four children under the age of 14, Sharn also fundraises for various charities by running marathons. In the past eight years, she has run the Noosa Triathlon and raised over $50k in doing so. Not one to sit idly, Sharn is up at 4am most mornings running, cycling or doing pilates before getting her kids ready for school.
"I balance family life with a demanding career. I'm a mum to four kids and have had a successful career to date. I was one of the youngest barristers admitted to practice in Queensland at 22 and in Victoria at 23. I raise money for charities and I always give my best.

"I may be classified as a champion in this game and I'm sure these contenders will give us a run for our money and probably make me look bad. But I'm a huge *Survivor* fan, I love the concept and I love the challenge. I had never applied before now but I'm there to play the ultimate game and do my best to win it."
**42, Barrister — Season 3**
Straight talking and secret strategist, Sharn is a barrister from Melbourne who is coming back for her second chance and opportunity to finally take out the win.
After coming second to Shane Gould, Sharn battled with ideas that she wasn't loyal to her alliance so is conscious of not letting that happen again.
"I don't have any real regrets from the last time because everything I did got me as far as I could go and to be in the final two. If I had any regrets, it would be that I didn't stop the persistent questioning of me in relation to loyalty. I thought I was more loyal than people gave me credit for."
Not everyone knows how it feels to make it to Day 50. Sharn feels confident that she can do it again after her good run last time.
Sharn is a mum of four so is used to negotiating with people daily and will use some of those skills to her advantage.
"I have an ability to read the game and anticipate what might be happening and act accordingly. For my job, I have to talk people around to things all day so I think that will help too. I'm also determined and competitive in challenges and I never give up."

## *Champions v Contenders (2018)*

Involved in the efforts to quickly eliminate veteran player Russell Hantz, Sharn's strength and life experience helped her make strong early bonds and integrated herself within the majority alliance of the Template:Dab tribe. Sharn contributed to the culture that promoted challenge strength and loyalty, which alienated players such as Jackie Glazier and Shane Gould. Her alliance took a hit when Moana Hope got sick, but at the Day 16 Tribal Council Sharn was vocal about still holding a vote. Host Jonathan LaPaglia obliged, which allowed Sharn's alliance to successfully flush Shane's Hidden Immunity Idol while still allowing Moana to exit the game. The Champions would go on to win the remaining challenges prior to the Tribe Switch. Though Sharn was swapped into a minority alongside Monika Radulovic and Lydia Lassila, original Template:Dab Benji Wilson and Robbie Skibicki flipped against their remaining tribemates, helping Sharn get through to the merge.

Sharn, Mat Rogers, and Steve Willis led a majority alliance against their common threats and enemies up until the final nine. At that point, the remaining Contenders Benji, Fenella McGowan, and Shonee Fairfax teamed up with fellow outsiders Brian Lake and Monika in an attempt to blindside Mat. At the Day 37 Tribal Council, Sharn sensed this move coming and attempted to save Mat with her idol (which she found earlier in the merge at a challenge, though famously not as discreetly as she hoped). However, Benji prevented her from doing so by convincing her to play the idol on herself. Sharn took the bait and misplayed the idol, allowing Mat to be voted out that night. Because of this, Sharn struggled to survive the votes up until the final six where Brian's split vote error and another idol play sent Fenella to the jury. Furious that her best friend and ally was voted out, Shonee joined forces with Sharn and Shane to form the "Sh" alliance. Having won the first two Immunity Challenges post-merge, Sharn added a third victory on Day 46 which allowed this new trio to flush Brian's idol and vote out Monika. Sharn was able to navigate the rest of the game with some help from a victory at the Final Immunity Challenge, opting to take Shane to the end over Brian on Day 49.

At Final Tribal Council, Sharn tried to explain that she played a loyal but strategic game. That argument fell apart when Brian pointed out her blunder during Mat's elimination. A poor performance coupled with Shane's answers tilted the scales in the former olympian's favor. Despite being in control for more of the game than Shane, Sharn lost to her in a 5-4 jury vote.

#### Voting History

**^1** In "Episode 2", the vote ended with a 4-4 tie between Jackie and Russell, forcing a revote. Sharn did not change her vote on the revote.
**^2** In "Episode 17", Sharn used a Hidden Immunity Idol, but did not negate any votes against her.
**^3** In "Episode 18", Shonee used a Vote Steal advantage on Sharn, preventing her from voting at Tribal Council. Also, the vote ended with a 4-4 tie between Sharn and Benji, forcing a revote. On the revote, Sharn did not receive enough votes to be eliminated.
**^4** In "Episode 19", rather than voting someone out, Koro Savu had to vote to give someone the status of Dead Man Walking.
**^5** In "Episode 20", the vote ended with a 2-2-2 tie between Sharn, Fenella, and Steve W., forcing a revote. On the revote, Sharn did not receive any votes to be eliminated.
**^6** In "Episode 21", Sharn used a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating 3 votes against her.

## *All Stars*

Sharn was a part of a large 2018 contingent that participated in *All Stars*, and although her ally Shane Gould was voted out at the first Tribal Council on Day 2, Sharn was able to link up with the majority Mokuta alliance which largely consisted of the more athletic players. Though Sharn initially had a slight target on her back because she made it to the end on her first season, that only amounted to two votes against her on Day 9. Sharn would begin to position herself as the swing vote between the "Little Rascals" (Nick Iadanza, Shonee Fairfax, and Harry Hills) and the athlete alliance.

Sharn would once again land in the majority after the Tribe Switch as her allies Lee Carseldine and Zach Kozyrski joined forces with Moana Hope, David Genat, Tarzan Herlaar, and Jacqui Patterson. Though Sharn had a good connection with Nick Iadanza and helped him target Moana on Day 24, she was unable to save Nick four days later. Though David was suspicious of Sharn as she wavered between alliances, the two would manage to work together.

The Mokuta seven would go on to dominate the post-merge until the Exile Beach twist occurred. Sharn's immunity win on Day 36 kept her from being sent to Exile, but the alliance began to fracture as Jacqui wanted to vote out Zach due to their disagreements. Sharn knew about this plan, but did not act on this information. Jacqui's move meant that there would be two alliances of four members each: Sharn, David, Tarzan, and Moana against Shonee Fairfax, AK Knight, Brooke Jowett, and Jacqui. On Day 40, it appeared a rock draw tiebreaker was inevitable. Since David won immunity, Tarzan had an idol played on him by David, and Moana was targeted by the opposing alliance, Sharn was the only member of her alliance who would be forced to draw a rock. Not wanting to take that risk, Sharn convinced Brooke, AK, and Shonee to unanimously eliminate Jacqui, promising loyalty to them in front of her alliance and the jury. Although it worked, Sharn frustrated the minority alliance and the jury by going back on that deal and staying loyal to her original alliance.

At the final five, Brooke's immunity win forced Sharn's alliance to turn against each other. As the only original Mokuta member left in the game, Sharn felt nervous. She received a vote from Tarzan, but Sharn, Moana, and David agreed on voting out Tarzan on Day 46 to have the best chance of beating Brooke the next day. After voting out Brooke, the Final Immunity Challenge came down to Sharn and David. It appeared that they struck a deal to take each other regardless of the outcome, and when David ultimately won, he held up to it and took Sharn to the end over Moana.

At Final Tribal Council, Sharn's attempts to defend her gameplay failed as her reputation as a swing vote who never planned on sticking to most of her promises preceded her. She was also criticized for keeping a strong player like David in the game and for being unwilling to take the risk with the rock draw. Sharn only received Moana's vote as David won comfortably by an 8-1 margin. Sharn became the first *Australian Survivor* player to reach 100 days but also the first to lose twice at the end.

#### Voting History

**^1** In "Episode 6", Mokuta was subjected to a mock Tribal Council where the two players who received the most votes were sent to Exile Beach.
**^2** In "Episode 11", the vote ended with a 5-5 tie between Moana and Phoebe, forcing a revote. Sharn changed her vote to Phoebe on the revote.
**^3** In "Episode 17", the vote ended with a 1-1 tie between David and Zach, forcing a revote. Sharn changed her vote to Zach on the revote.
**^4** In "Episode 19", the vote ended with a 4-4 tie between Jacqui and Moana, forcing a revote. Nobody changed their vote on the revote, forcing a unanimous consensus tiebreaker. Sharn did not change her vote on the tiebreaker.
**^5** In "Episode 21", Sharn's vote, as well as the 2 votes against her, were nullified after AK accepted the Trial by Fire.

## Post-Survivor

* Sharn was the Liberal Party of Australia candidate for the Division of Dunkley in the 2022 Australian federal election. She received 33.1% of the first preference vote, and lost to the incumbent MP, Labor's Peta Murphy.

## Tribal Council

### Total votes received:

22

* Sharn holds the record for most challenges won in a single season of *Australian Survivor* overall, having won 23 challenges in .
* Sharn is the first person in the Network Ten incarnation of *Australian Survivor* to win the Final Immunity Challenge and not be the Sole Survivor.
* Sharn played the second-most days of all returning players on *Australian Survivor*, after Shonee Bowtell. She has lasted 100 days over two seasons.
	+ Sharn is the first person to survive 100 days on *Australian Survivor.*
* Sharn is the first castaway on *Australian Survivor* to reach the Final Tribal Council twice.
* Sharn and Lee Carseldine are the only returning players to never be voted out.
	+ Coincidentally, both were the runner-up of their original seasons, and were members of Mokuta on *All Stars*.
* Sharn received 11 votes against her both times she played.

## References

1. ↑ https://10play.com.au/australian-survivor/participants/season-3/sharn/pa190317tsb
2. ↑ https://10play.com.au/australian-survivor/participants/season-5/sharn/pa200203bycho
3. ↑ https://www.liberal.org.au/member/sharn-coombes
4. ↑ https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/federal/2022/guide/dunk