NRLFF Survivor Season 2 - Part 3

Spoiler:

Ok we’ll do this ^^ votes might get moved to Wednesday to accompany for the late change aswell as the lack of activity so far

Sounds good

Can every please start PMing me questions to ask JM and EasyTiger. If not enough questions come in by tonight I will push out voting and tribal to Wednesday night

I sent my questions but are we supposed to see their speeches first?

My speech is in.
I apologise for the word count - I think I could've written a novel lol

I figure once FS has both our speeches, then he posts them.
If anyone wants to change their question because of the speeches, I'd imagine FS would allow it?

Yeah, I'll be changing my question/s if I think I need to after reading the speeches.

Yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing speeches first, then questions if that's cool? My question now would be pretty generic, I guess, but the speeches might prompt more interesting and relevant questions?

My pitch is in also.

Before you read it, I wanted to say a big thank you to all 24 survivors. I have thoroughly enjoyed playing with each and every one of you. The attitude that everyone played with has been superb and, I especially loved the team challenges where I got to throw ideas around with some of the best brains in the business. Seriously, being able to fall back for a chat with survivor friends at times when work or life was stressing up was a godsend. And to have played with the greats of the FF website – that’s priceless.

And a big thank you to FS for volunteering to running this, and lasting the distance. It seemed clearly life got in your way more than anticipated, and you handled the potential uprising well. Thank you.

And finally ET, good luck for the final vote. Thrilled I get to go up against you. You would make a worthy sole survivor.

Thanks JM and well said.

You're an outstanding competitor and an all round great fella, so best of luck to you as well.

Firstly, I wanted to thank FalconSloth for reviving the game this year; it has been a pleasure to play a part.
To all the players involved, thank you for your effort and gameplay. You are the lifeblood of Survivor, and you have made for a complex, challenging and rewarding season.

Where to begin?
I'm a big survivor fan - starting 20 odd years ago with Season 2 (The Australian Outback), and from that time on, Survivor has been a guilty pleasure.
To get to participate in a Survivor-based competition has been an eye-opening and enjoyable experience for me.
So make no mistake, I would love to win the title of Sole Survivor, and I hope you'll agree that I deserve it.

Like most castaways on Survivor, I started with little knowledge of my fellow players.
With 13 players returning from Season one and several forum VIPs, it felt like quite a challenge to overcome.

I needed to find a core of people I would trust (and who could trust me).
But I believed finding those people would be a real challenge for me. Fortunately, two great opportunities presented themselves.

JM got in touch very early, and then on the day FS announced the tribes, Welshy invited me into an alliance.
Suddenly I had some survival insurance on my tribe in Welshy, which was incredibly fortunate as it resulted in meeting B/L.
It didn't take long for me to realise that the person I wanted to play Survivor with was B/L.
B/L and I were in-sync from the start. From the moment we began strategising, we largely controlled the game in all but a couple of idol-influenced tribals.
Finding and knowing the right people to trust in Survivor is critical, and you can see that I chose well in JM & B/L.

I imagine I would've started at long odds to make the final like Jele in Season one.
My journey and Jele's are very different - I didn't survive in the margins; I took control of the game.
As FS quoted early: "If you don't control the game. The game controls you."

I didn't want to leave my game in other people's hands, but already B/L's game was massively advanced compared to my own - a strange confession, but that's the truth of it. I was starting as a tentative introvert with far too few connections and who probably lacked the social impetus to make much of the game.
However, in Survivor, you don't have to start as the best player; you simply have to be good enough to survive.
So I started by making sure I wasn't a soft target; I added value in team challenges, I was respectful to my tribe mates - all things I'd do anyway, all things that would ensure I survived the first few weeks.

But I also knew surviving would only last so long.
I had to get out of my comfort zone and adapt quickly!
A feature of my game was the ability to adjust quickly to the environment & improve my chances of survival.
I needed to know more about the other players and what gameplay to expect, so I read all the threads from the first Survivor season.
It gave me more insight into who the big players were likely to be, who I could trust, and who might make big moves.
I had some early numbers in JM, Welshy and B/L - but then I quickly added StuDogg, Chewie, and Camo and connected with Wolfie and Teeth.

After winning the opening challenge, Carty suddenly lost 3 of the following four challenges.
Papa was vulnerable, but I pushed hard to keep her in the game - I knew that she would help us win challenges and that she could be a potential ally for me. When that failed, and Papa was sent to exile island with Reg & L-Jimmy - I took things into my own hands - this was a hallmark of my game.
That night I quickly put together a spreadsheet of Draft targets in the hope it would help her to win the challenge.
As fate would have it, she won the challenge, not because of my assistance, but because she is a quality fantasy player.
Nevertheless, I'd helped her get back, which positioned me as her lifeline within Carty.
Papa ended up being a huge contributor to team challenges and a great assistant in pulling some big plays in the game.

The next time we lost a challenge, Papa was again in the firing line, but B/L and I quietly put numbers together, and we blindsided Chucky - only the blindside voters knew what was going down.
It was a massive move as it announced B/L and I as threats, and that meant we'd have a target on your back for the rest of the game.
Seldom in survivor history do a "power couple" make it to the end - I knew it would be a considerable challenge, but I was up for it.

Welshy reacted badly to Chucky's exit and swung away from our alliance, so we had to remove him quickly before the merge.
I took responsibility for the team challenge, changing our submission and ensuring we lost.
It felt like a pretty shit thing to do, especially as I knew Milch had brought his time, skill and effort to the challenge (as he always did) - I genuinely felt bad about it. Still, I also knew Welshy was preparing to attack our alliance and would have the numbers if he made the merge, and that was something I wasn't about to let happen.
What followed was a classic survivor blindside, and Welshy went home.

We were in a strong position through to the merge.
Then FS began to throw twist after twist after twist; Ming/Jing shakeup, Random surviving and gaining an extra vote following an eviction tribal, and the reintroduction of two evicted players.

My numbers advantage should've been 7-3 going into the merge, when all of a sudden, it was a real possibility of a 7-7 split with idols in play.
In Survivor, while you have fire, you have life.
I was still alive in the game, so I set to work.
We had an upcoming challenge for an idol and a challenge to determine the returning players.
I worked tirelessly on assembling data for the returning challenge - team lists, key player profiles, everything to select a competitive challenge team and make it as easy as possible to try and re-enter the game.
I looked through the people evicted that could strengthen my numbers; Rabbits, Roger, Sajjos, L-Jimmy, Snatch, Camo, Pookus - I approached all of them.
I worked hard in this game, damn hard to improve my and my alliance's chances where I could.
It didn't always pan out, but often it gave me enough to work with - this time round, it delivered Rabbits which offset the return of Moanaman.

The week that followed, I battled Covid and Moanaman.
My relationships and alliances held, and Moana went home on a 9 to 5 count.
It was closer than I would've liked, but I believe it was the only time I received votes.
Looking back, it seems remarkable to me, but I think a testament to the genuine friendships I built in this game.

I followed it up with winning the next immunity challenge, then the gifted immunity challenge.
Chewie and Cunbert pulled off a big idol play cutting off my left hand in Wolfie, and then organised Papa+Stu to swing vote Teeth. Those two weeks were devastating.

Each time I had to pick myself up and adapt my game. Kristie of Survivor Australia said it best:
The whole essence of Survivor is breaking through adversity because where are you going if you can't do that? home

I did everything possible to put myself and my alliance in strong positions, but there were constant challenges and moments of real adversity.
Sometimes it would've been easy to give up and go home, but each time I picked myself up, worked out a strategy, organised the vote and grew as a player.

Looking back, my great takeaway from this game is the relationships I've made and the people I've connected with.
The times I found myself in a position where I had to vote for one of those connections were particularly taxing.
But, in the end, here I am with a chance to be the sole Survivor.

If it were down to who has played the honourable game, then I think JM is your man.
I have profound respect and admiration for him and feel privileged and grateful to stand against him in the final.
I love the game he has played. It would've sat more comfortably with me had I been afforded the chance to travel the road he went down and play the game the way he has.

But this is Survivor; it's not about deciding who the best person is, and it's not about getting revenge on who voted you out.
The winner of Survivor needs to be the person who played the best game, and of the two options, I think I played the better game.

It wasn't a spotless game; I got my hands dirty, worked hard to get my alliance through, and for the most part, I successfully moved my alliance forwards through the game.
I tried to play with kindness and care for the other people in the game. I never took my place or the people around me for granted, and I was ultimately answerable and accountable for my actions.

I collected information to understand where the vote was going in almost every tribal council.
Through diligent observation, I almost always knew the state of play, where people sat, and who was starting to shift, and every time adapted accordingly.
I orchestrated votes and blindsides, mostly executing them flawlessly and managed the numbers to remove every threat to my game.
I won multiple individual and team challenges, outplayed, outwitted and outlasted, and more than anything, I survived.

Dear Jury,

My pitch to be crowned 2022 sole survivor is one of subtlety and nuance, rather than one of ‘blow up’ moves.  This mirrors how I played league, I got much more of a thrill out of a quality try assist than I did from scoring.  Think of it as the Cliff Lyons approach rather than the David Fifita approach.  Why be the hitman when you don’t need to be. Let others do that for you.

An example. My biggest move was made on day 1. It set me up for success.  Yet, by games end, I believe only one person knew of that move. Are you thinking, what the hell was that move?  Well, that’s Cliffy Lyons for you.

And that set me off on the journey to face 17 tribal councils, where I received no votes on 16 occasions.  The one time I received votes, I played my idol.  A full season with not a single vote counted against me.   So, how did a humble fish manage that?

In a nutshell, here’s a summary of my game.

• My game was reliant on relationships.  Lots of them.
• I kept secrets when I had to.  Refer to my biggest move.  
• Many of my productive relationships were outside of my alliance, with a quid pro quo agreement to share info and push votes to others.
• I saw my entire initial Cheese alliance blow up.  To survive, I needed to show some dexterity and skill.
• I stayed quite when I needed to stay quite.  I showed loyalty when I needed to show loyalty.  I remained calm when I need to remain calm. I didn’t jump at shadows. I trusted the right people at the right time.
• I used my idol to perfection, delivering three different benefits.
• I landed in the final 3 with the people I had planned to make final 3 when merge came.  All the while everyone thought B/L and ET were running the show and were the “head of the snake”. I stayed in the shadows, where other tribe members were happy to talk with me, not knowing how close the three of us really were.
• The escape hatches I planned didn’t need to be used.
• I contributed heavily to challenges, no matter what tribe I was in.  The ex-Carty members of Jing paid me the ultimate compliment saying they no longer miss Milch.  
• The one immunity I had to win (final 3), I won in a canter.


I won’t elaborate on all of this (I trust the jury will seek answers for things unsaid).  I will elaborate on a few things.

Playing on-line, it was too hard to build relationships with 24 people.  But I focussed on building “enough” right from the start.  I was never left just talking to my own alliance.

For example, my strong Cheese alliance of 4 (L-Jimmy, Snatch, Camo) were voted out in weeks 5, 6 and 7.   I could’ve been gone in week 8.  But I survived a number of weeks after that by having built relationships elsewhere that I could rely on to get by.

At times in survivor you have to live with being uncomfortable and remain calm.  I knew that the group who had voted my alliance out was too strong to overturn, and they also did not trust me.  The next few weeks was about trying to build trust, at a time the strong alliance refused to tell me what was happening. I was simply given a late instruction.  I had to accept the best long term game was to sit quietly and accept what was happening, and bide my time.  In survivor, things can change.

An irony perhaps, a turning point was when I played my idol.  Thanks to relationships I had built, I had at least 3 separate people giving me a heads up that I was up for elimination.  There was no doubt I needed to play it to survive.

But playing the idol had a dual purpose.  It saved me and helped me build bridges that got me further in the game at a time my position was under threat.  A key question was who could I share the info with and use it to build trust (last season I was voted off the week after playing my idol.  So I thought long and hard about who, how and why).   Chewie came to the rescue. He reached out with a simple message that made me realise he was the right fit.  So sharing the info in the way I did lead to a connection with Chewie.  Chewie then became part of my plan to get to merge.

The other key part of my strategy at this time was to make peace with those that had tried to vote me off.  I made every effort to say no hard feelings and I actually meant it.  I decided not to seek revenge on those that voted for me. In one case, I used the opportunity to discuss how we could secretly align as no-one would expect it, which gave it power.

Playing the idol had other benefits.  People from Carty saw me as a possible swing vote.  With merge coming, feelers came from a number of players.  No approach was rebuffed, and every option kept open.  

Jing tribe was short lived and we were soon in merge.  My strategy at this point was clear.  Join the big alliance and prove I could be trustworthy.  Keep talking to the others and keep options open.  I was confident I could get a long way starting down this path.  I ha trust with ET and I could tell trust with B/L was building.

Through B/L and ET I always knew the state of the game from the big alliance.  I worked hard with B/L to show I could be trusted and wouldn’t sway.  Voting is obviously one way, but there are others such as information flow.

Merge is delicate because you need to gain trust while having flexibility.  In the first weeks after merge I had an approach from Wolfy.  I knew Wolfy was in the big alliance.  He came talking of a side hussle that would lead to a big play.  Now, talk about Lorelei luring fish(erman) to destruction.  This man is a god of the game, and so likeable that in week 2 my main Cheese alliance (Snatch) told me he could never vote for Wolfy.  My gut told me that Wolfy’s offer was not a serious one, but he was testing my loyalty.  So, the offer was not taken up, and by feeding back to B/L and E/T that “Wolfy is talking about a blindside”, Wolfy’s "offer" allowed me to prove loyalty to 3 players in one hit.  

At Chin tribe (yeah, that’s what it was called), I was keeping in touch with a number of players outside the main alliance.  Building exit strategies was part of the plan.  An example from final 7. Chewie and Cunbert were strongly aligned. BL, ET and I were strongly aligned but it was in everyone else mind it was B/L and ET strongly aligned, leaving me, Papa and StuDogg in the middle.  I played out options and concluded that in this case, the best vote for me would be to take out one of Papa and Stu.  Maybe counterintuitive, but I was thinking to next week when Chewie/Cunbert Vs BL/ET needed a hypothetical split.  Me and Papa (for example) would have possible power and a path would pop up to get to final 3, and gave me an out if something unexpected happen.  I made a soft pitch to one of those two.  The bait wasn’t taken and Chewie was taken out.  This was fine with me, because I was in an alliance of three that I really did trust and taking out a gun like Chewie and splitting him and Cunbert was good news.

By final four, we had, amazingly, an alliance of three.  We just needed StuDogg not to win immunity.  He never stood a chance.  I wonder if the jury noticed what went down?  If not that’s Cliffy Lyons for you.  As soon as FS announced the challenge it was obvious B/L, ET and I could team up and lock down victory.  I got in touch with ET to say this, and he came back agreeing.  Shortly after B/L sent me a DM with the same message.  I quickly pulled up our 3 teams and sent them to B/L and ET.  B/L said on the thread it was no sweat immunity win for him.  To be fair, he did have to cut and paste to win that challenge.

My penultimate comments in the next two paragraphs are broad ones.  In a game of lying and cheating, lines need to be drawn somewhere.  While I wasn’t perfect, I feel somewhat honourable.  Two examples.

Around weeks 3-4, Cheese was going through some growing pains.  The tribe had a lot of voices and it became clear to me that some voices were being favoured and others ignored (even when valid points were being made).  I started to deliberately reply to comments of those that were being ignored.  A tribe member soon sought me out for assistance when I’d be off line for a bit, for this very reason.  Assistance was duly given, via direct comment of support in the tribe thread for the overlooked comments.  I made sure to affirm the tribe members input a number of times until the tribe settled back down again.

When I was a youngen’ a coach once said to me. If you only care about winning, just go and play your grandma.  If you care about being the best, you want to play the best.  Which brings me to final 7 challenge.  FS sets a challenge where only 2 eligible entries are received, and I win immunity in a field of two.  The proverbial hits the fan and Chewie proposes a no vote.  As the person most likely to be disadvantaged, I decide to speak up quickly, and I say I will give up immunity and do a repeat. A fair playing field is important to me.  

So let me end with where I started.  My biggest move came before the tribes were determined.  A quick DM to ET, saying “whatever happens, let’s make an alliance. You in?”   And with that simple message the next 26 weeks were set in motion.   ET was the prefect pick.  He was supportive, encouraging, calm, well connected and so much more.  Lots of my intel came from ET as Cheese tribe members reach out to him.  So, a secret partnership that lasted the whole game.  There was no question, I just had to take him to final 2.  Having a close, trusted alliance that not a single person knows about was just magnificent.  It gave so much flexibility to move around and find out and share information than would otherwise not be possible.   A partnership where I played the role perfectly to keep hidden, and build connection with others along the way.  

To wrap up, I believe ET or I would be a worthy winner.  Vote for me if you like Cliffy Lyons.


Cheers
JM

JM and I eagerly await the juries questions/grilling

Some great essays there, brought back some good memories of the season, I don't know how you guys remember all this stuff. Both of you are worthy of the title making it all the way to the end.

Well damn, triple teamed even take me on a date first next time lol

FYI: FS has sent me and ET 6 questions, so waiting on possibly another 5... get 'em in, so we can join you in the bar..... we're thirsty

Jumping Marlin wrote:FYI:  FS has sent me and ET 6 questions, so waiting on possibly another 5... get 'em  in, so we can join you in the bar..... we're thirsty

JM and I will both get cracking with the questions we have, and I completely agree with JM; it would be great to see those that haven't yet posted a question get involved.

You've all earned the right to have your questions answered, or to make a statement, and of course to decide the outcome.

I'll put in a question today or tomorrow

When is a good time to start confessing all the backstabbing shenanigans? Like how I put Random's name down for one tribal just to stir things up, and yes I did the same with Rabbits21 a few times...

Chewie wrote:When is a good time to start confessing all the backstabbing shenanigans? Like how I put Random's name down for one tribal just to stir things up, and yes I did the same with Rabbits21 a few times...

I never put anyone’s name down

(I did however always submit votes with names spelt wrong so FS had to correct them)

Bloody hell, two fine and comprehensive final pitches there. So much info and I'm not sure how to come up with a question with everything seeming so well covered.

I'll think and try to get something in tonight. Apologies for the delay... didn't realise those final pitches had dropped.