'No one thought it was going to win': Rachel and SJ get candid about The Block's shock final auction in new podcast

It was undeniably the most controversial auction in Block history, and fan-favourites Sarah-Jane Calleja and Rachel Carr have finally revealed what went down behind-the-scenes in their new podcast I Just Can't. 

During the finale of last year's season of The Block: Tree Change, fans were left dumbfounded, and the contestants even moreso, after three of the four houses didn't sell under the hammer.

Although Oz and Omar raked in a record-breaking $1,686,666.66 in prize money and took home the winning title, there were other couples who dominated the news headlines.

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In third place, Rachel and Ryan left with a profit of $169,000.50 while their Block besties, Sarah-Jane and Tom, walked away with an incomparable $20,000.99.

In the first episode of I Just Can't, Rachel gets straight into it.

"Let me ask you this… the boys [Oz and Omar] go in first, right, and come out with $1.6 million. Did you think we were all going to come out with that amount of money?" 

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"No," Sarah-Jane responds without hesitation.

"Because the boys were the only two with two registered bidders. The only reason it went up so high is because you had two huge egos … two huge millionaires pumping it out. And I'm looking and thinking, 'Well, that millionaire isn't coming to my auction'."

Most Blockheads are aware of the importance of auction order, and it can be the determining factor in which houses sell for millions while others walk away with their memories.

"That's the whole reason the boys went first, because they were the only house with two registered bidders," Sarah-Jane explains.

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"People always ask me about the auction, but I've never really spoken about it because I don't need to justify shit to anybody… but they had to go first." 

"No one thought it was going to win. I, personally, didn't think it was the best house and that's not throwing shade, that was my opinion the entire time. But they had two huge egos with a shitload of money… and that was the recipe for success". 

In their new podcast I Just Can't, these two take it beyond The Block as they unpack the ups, the downs and the "I just can't" moments in life. 

Episode one is available now, so subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.