Meet the cast of Australian Survivor 2027: Rivals

Netballer and footballer Sharni Layton (31) is pitted against footballer Sarah Yatim (31).

“Can’t wait for you all to come on the journey with us in 2027… AND meet my rival @sy_plumbing – yes… there’s 2 of me and it’s frightening,” Sharni wrote on Instagram.

Sarah responded: “Taking a break from the day-to-day grind to compete for Sole Survivor — and take on my rival, who is just as competitive as me… the Schwarzenegger to my DeVito.”

Sharni Layton is a retired netballer and Aussie rules player for the Aussie Diamonds and Collingwood team. In her athletic career, she earned ANZ Championship Player of the Year, was captain of the Diamonds, won Commonwealth Games Gold, and two World Cups for Australia. Since retiring she has been very open about the struggles of performing under pressure and dealing with burnout, which she documents in her memoir No Apologies. Sharni currently works as a netball coach for England Netball and West Coast Fever.

Sarah Yatim is also a footballer. She played for Sydney Scorpions in the national women’s F-League, including scoring in their 2013 grand-final win. Later, she played for Western Sydney Wanderers Women in the W-League. Her football career continued well beyond her W-League stint with Western Sydney Wanderers. She was playing for Sydney Olympic in the NPL NSW Women’s competition as recently as the 2025 season. However, she has branched into a new career: plumbing. Sarah started her plumbing business, SY Plumbing, in August 2026.

Part-time stategy excec and full time Diva, Kaitlyn Souksamlane-Tan (36) is ready to take on the challenge, saying she’s channelling Survivor legend Colby Donaldson.

Her rival this season is Ellie Gonsalves (35), a model, actor and TV personality from Queensland.

“Apparently I thought starving, sleeping rough, battling it out in challenges and playing one of the greatest social games on earth sounded like a good idea,” Olympian Kerri Pottharst OAM (61) wrote about her involvement. “Was it tough? YES. Was it an adventure? ABSOLUTELY. Do I have stories? OH BOY…”

The Olympic gold medallist and former beach volleyball player retired from professional sport after the 2000 Olympics. However, she came out of retirement and sadly suffered a knee injury which ended her career. But that hasn’t stopped her! This isn’t the first relativy TV show she’s taking part of. She also appeared on Celebrity Cruises in 2005.

Her rival is fellow Olympian, aerial skier, Danielle Scott (36).

“NOW QUEEN or SOLE SURVIVOR?” Danielle asked on Instagram. “You may have noticed I’ve been a little MIA lately… So ready to live this dream!! This season is going to be epic – get ready!!!”

Danielle has represented Australia at four Winter Olympics (Sochi 2014, Pyeongchang 2018, Beijing 2022, and Milano Cortina 2026).

Rival lawyers Portia Ferdinand (27) and Emily Jones (34) are both from NSW.

“All rise. The trial for Sole Survivor begins now,” Portia wrote of the news.

“Legally I can’t tell you what this photoshoot was for,” Emily wrote in her post.

Mums are a real powerhouse, and Survivor is pitting two “Power Mums” against one another.

“It was the best experience of my life,” Eva (51) wrote about her experience, adding that it was the hardest, the most fun, the most awful, the most emotional, and “the hardest thing I’ve ever done psychologically and physically”.

“I’m 51 years old and just a normal, everyday Mum who took a chance that many Survivor super fans only dream of. So for that I’m eternally grateful.”

Kate also took to Instagram to share her news, writing “Not quite the kid-free island holiday I had in mind, but…”

Josh and Louie are “Rival Rebels” on this upcoming season of Australian Survivor.

Josh runs In A Jam, a movement that spreas positivity and sausage sizzles in Melbourne. Josh Robinson and Cameron Quashie set up barbecues by busy highways and when the traffic gets bad, they gift sausage sizzles and soft drinks to commuters and passersby.

His rival on Survivor is Chinese-Manchu tattoo artist Louie Liu or @louietattooie who calls himself a “Rebel with a cause”.

Twin sisters Alisa and Lysandra Fraser are going head-to-head on the upcoming season. The sisters are both interior designers with their company Design Duo. They appeared on The Block together; Lysandra shares her story on The Edit.

“Apparently 42 years of sibling rivalry wasn’t enough!” they wrote on their socials. “So when we were given the chance to take it to a whole new level and face off against each other on Australian Survivor: Rivals… how could we say no?!”

Jorden Tually and Yusuf are rival vloggers with over 830,000 followers together on Instagram. Yusuf previously worked for CNN and has since co-founded Seen.TV and Seen Palestine, which covers on-the-ground journalism in Palestine and trains journalists in the region. Could being able to shift the lies from fiction help him at tribal council?

Jorden is quite a different vlogger. He is a travel content creator who has journeyed to over 103 countries over the past 12 years. After experiencing so many different cultures, he likely has the social skills to outplay his tribemates.

Union or League? The age-old question.

Adam Ashley-Cooper, 42, aka Mr Versatile and Swoop, is one of Australia’s most accomplished rugby union players and a former Wallabies star. In this upcoming season, he’s taking on rugby league player Robbie Farah. He is one of the most recognisable players in the history of the Wests Tigers, and one of Australian rugby league’s standout hookers of his generation.

It wouldn’t be Survivor without some muscle to get through the challenges. Can’t wait to see their showdowns.

Australian model and actor Christian Wilkins (son of Richard Wilkins) is a frequent reporter and attendee of red carpets around Australia. His rival this season is Mitch Churi of The Mitch Churi Chat Show. He’s switching from reporting on the latest in Australian media to being the story!

AFL rivals Heath Shaw and Adam Cooney will take their Collingwood versus Essendon rivalry from the football field to the Malaysian jungle in Australian Survivor: Rivals.

Heath Shaw, 40, is a former AFL defender best known for his long career with Collingwood, where he played 173 games and was part of the Magpies’ 2010 premiership-winning team. He later played for Greater Western Sydney, taking his career total to 325 AFL games.

Adam Cooney, 40, is a former AFL midfielder who is best known for his career with the Western Bulldogs. He won the 2008 Brownlow Medal, awarded to the AFL’s best and fairest player, and ultimately played 250 AFL games for the Bulldogs and Essendon.

You’ve definitely seen these rival actors on your screen before!

Lincoln Lewis, 38, is best known for playing Geoff Campbell on Home and Away. He subsequently appeared in Tomorrow, When the War Began, Neighbours, Underbelly, House Husbands and Gallipoli. More recently, he has appeared in NCIS: Sydney and the 2025 film Primitive War. He is also the son of rugby league great Wally Lewis, so there’s a strong sporting connection in his family background despite Lincoln’s career being in acting.

And, he’s also starring alongside Bernard Curry in the upcoming film Love, Wine & Valentine. But that’s not the only project they’ve both been on.

Bernard Curry, 52, has been working in Australian television for more than three decades. He’s probably best known as Luke Handley in Home and Away, Jake Stewart in Wentworth and he appeared on Neighbours, Underbelly and Winners & Losers.

This isn’t the first reality TV show he’s appeared on. He was in The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition with his brother Stephen Curry — which they won in 2025.