Former AFL premiership champion Simon Black is in the unique position of having been voted out of Australian Survivor not once, but twice. In his first elimination he was sent to Exile Beach to compete against Daisy Richardson to re-enter the game. Although he won the challenge and became an active player again, it wasn't to be, and he was swiftly eliminated once more at the next tribal council. Below, the under-the-radar player chats all the highs and lows of his Survivor experience, including the "bizarre" things that didn't make it to air.

POPSUGAR: Hey Simon! How was it to have to watch yourself be eliminated twice over the last couple of episodes?

Simon: [Laughs] It was pretty rough watching it last night! There are plenty of woulda, shoulda, coulda moments when you can watch it back and see what other people were thinking in their confessionals.

PS: People seemed to perceive your first vote out when you were sent to Exile as a blindside, were you expecting it at all?

Simon: Look, I was. I had tried to work with Luke and Harry to get Abbey out at that stage, and I think they went back and told Abbey about [the plan]. My reasoning for that was that the three girls were so tight, I felt like we had to make a move on them. I knew worst case scenario would mean I'd be voted out instead and sent to Exile, but it was a strategic move at the time. Once I came back into camp after beating Daisy in the challenge, it was like a brick wall. I couldn't penetrate them or get them to swing my way. That's why I started digging holes so much.

PS: In the episode we saw you scrambling to find an idol to attempt to stay in. What else did you do to attempt to avoid being voted straight back out?

Simon: I tried to sway Harry to vote Abbey out, and then I tried to sway Abbey to vote Harry out. I thought Pia and Janine would stay with me, which would mean we'd only need one more person [to make the move]. But Abbey and Harry just wouldn't swing, I think if you're seen as a physical threat late in the game then they really want you gone, and they were pretty strong about that. I found a fake idol clue that Luke had planted in a bush, so that's why I was digging for the one that he'd found earlier in the game with that clue. He'd re-planted it, and silly me found it, so I was digging frantically!

PS: You were voted out unanimously. Why do you think Janine and Pia ultimately decided to vote you out the second time? Was it just because the numbers weren't there to vote Abbey?

Simon: Yeah, that's right. We saw that when ET and I voted Steve out early in the game, it was sort of about trying to gain a bit of trust with the other alliance. That's what tends to happen. It's all about self-protection!

PS: In Harry's voting confessional when he voted you out the first time, he said something like, "you should have listened the first 100 times I told you to start playing." Why do you think he had the perception you weren't playing?

Simon: Well I mean, I didn't play with him! I was playing with a different group, and he'd wanted to play with us since back at the tribe swap. He was clutching at straws a lot, and did well to find a couple of idols to save his skin. But yeah, I was playing the game, I just wasn't playing it with his group!

PS: Had you not been voted out when you were, did you ever intend to turn on Abbey, Janine or Pia?

Simon: Yeah! What didn't get shown in the edit of the episode was that I tried to vote out Abbey, which is what instigated the move on me. I tried getting Luke, Harry and Baden to swap over and vote Abbey out, but obviously they went back and told her, and ended up forming together to blindside me instead. That didn't get shown in the episode unfortunately . . . it's bizarre it wasn't shown on TV, I thought it would have made pretty good tele!

PS: As you've alluded to, you were pretty under-the-radar when it came to screen time. Can you tell us a bit more about what your strategy was out there?

Simon: In the early days it was to build some solid, strong relationships, since it's such a social game. But it was also about not sticking my neck out too early in the game, as that would have put a target on my back. It was really just about trying to get through to merge. I was really lucky at tribe swap with how the cards fell, with there being five of us Champions and four Contenders. That led to me forming strong relationships with the girls and Ross, up until he hurt himself. Post-merge, I felt like I could still fly under the radar if I was in the numbers early on, which the Champions were. I felt like I played a significant part in the move to blindside Dave as well, because at the end of the day to win the game, your pitch has got to be worthy to the jury. You have to pull some moves, and unfortunately the Abbey one didn't get shown, but that's why I tried to break those three girls up.

PS: Was it your attempt to blindside Abbey that you were most surprised didn't make the air, or was there something else that wasn't seen that you were more shocked by?

Simon: There's no doubt there's quite a few things. But yeah the Dave blindside is one as well, because like I said, I felt like I had a significant part in that and convincing John, Harry and Baden to go that way. But with the attempted blindside on Abbey, she even said to me as I was leaving tribal, "I got you before you got me," . . . so it's a bit bizarre.

PS: What move in the game that you were a part of are you most proud of?

Simon: The Dave move. And also when both ET and I were on the chopping block pre-merge, I think the fact I really went out of my way to build relationships and get to know everyone really helped me survive that vote. That's something I'm proud of. Also just being a part of a majority alliance, where we had the numbers for a big part of the game. While Janine was sort of seen as the godmother, I think we all contributed to who was going to go each vote.

PS: What was the highlight of your time in the game?

Simon: I loved the physical challenges, getting to compete again was just a lot of fun. Also just the relationships I built and the social side of it, although everyone's trying to do what it takes to survive and be the sole Survivor, you've got to build genuine relationships. I really enjoyed that aspect of it all.

PS: Who do you want to win now?

Simon: Even though he blindsided me, I think Luke would be a great winner. As cheeky as he is, he's played the game really well and he'd beat anyone else there for sure.