General News
3 November, 2025
Block builders ride reality TV rollercoaster
The Block contestants Mat and Robby pocketed just $109,999 between them from the auction of their house on Saturday, and local builder Sam Winfield isn't backward in coming forward to say he thinks the reserve was extremely high.
Mr Winfield is the owner of building company Winstar and worked alongside Mat and Robby in part of their creation for this season of The Block.
Mat and Robby were openly devastated by the result, which equates to just $54,999.50 each.
They went into the auction as favorites, with the pair having claimed wins for a number of rooms during the series, including alfresco and shed, kitchen, bathroom, and dining and living room.
"We were disappointed when the reserve came out, to be honest," Mr Winfield told Wimmera Mallee News.
"They were probably $300,000 above what we were expecting/hoping and everyone was a bit flat when they found out what the reserve was.
"Just looking at the medium sale price in Daylesford, I think we all knew it was going to be a big ask to front up and sell $15 million worth of property on Saturday.
"I don't think anyone saw that being achieved but if the reserves were a little bit lower I think they all would have sold and there would have been a bit more money in contestants' pockets."
Mr Winfield praised the pair's house, adding that the additional items the two had constructed or won during the show – like the cellar, the fireplace and the pickleball court – all added a lot of value.
"I'm probably a bit biased but it was also in the best spot, looking out over the heritage paddocks that will never be developed," Mr Winfield said.
"I was shocked.
"I attended the auction on Saturday with my wife Brylee and the feeling was funny: a celebration for what had been fun but the boys probably just didn't get the reward.
“I know $110,000 is a lot of money: don't get me wrong – they aren't ungrateful.
"But the sacrifice they put in: they are both in business, they were away from home for four months, Robby had a boy, Brooks, who was four months old when he left and eight months when he returned.
"They are big sacrifices to set yourself up potentially, and it felt like we fell a bit short.
"To make some pretty substantial money would have been awesome but, like the boys said, they had a hell of a time doing it."
Mr Winfield said it was his company's first time building in front of an audience countrywide.
"Building is hard enough, let alone building in front of a camera in front of Australia," he said.
"I think we can be proud of our guys and how they conducted themselves.
"There was no real drama in our home, no defects that were major, and we probably put that down to communication and planning: keeping everyone on the one page and doing a good job."
Meanwhile, another local, Dean Hogan, was also active on The Block set this season as an agent for Stratco.
Mr Hogan, who operates DJ Hogan Builders, a family-operated and -owned business in Horsham, joined The Block with his team to assist in constructing pergolas.
"I'm the authorised local Stratco dealer and have been for maybe 12 or 13 years in Horsham/the Wimmera," Mr Hogan said.
"They reached out to their top five builders and we were privileged enough to be asked so we went down and mainly worked on house two," Mr Hogan said.
Mr Hogan described the ordeal as an "experience", adding that the conditions were not like normal work.
"We went next door to help one of the other Stratco builders for a couple of hours and there would be a Ballarat builder doing a deck under me, there's a kitchen going in and then there are landscapers digging holes," he said.
Mr Hogan said they were originally meant to be on site for a week and he and his team were able to get their pergola to a completed stage.
"But a couple of other builders hadn't, so we helped them to make it look like it was ready for when they did their landscaping shots," he said.
"And then Stratco reached out to us only and we went back a few weeks later to basically go through the five Stratco pergolas and we actually finished them off, just the boys and I."
Acknowledging it was a big coup to be the only builder to be asked back by Stratco, Mr Hogan said they were grateful for the opportunity.
"It was so rushed, it was impossible to get everything done, and it was a bit of an acknowledgement to be asked to go back," he added.