THEY were rivals who became mates on The Block in 2012. Bishop's Creek miner Brad Cranfield and Geelong landscaper Dale Vine and their respective other halves - Lara Welham and Sophie Vine - forged a friendship from the renovation rubble that lasted long after Cranfield and Welham won the 2012 The Block title.
Cranfield and Welham have since tied the knot, while Dale Vine has was called in for Block double-duty on The Block All Stars last year when Duncan Miller's teammate Mark Bowyer exited the competition due to illness.
Now, the pair are back to take on The Block: Sky High winners Alisa and Lysandra Fraser, and two teams of 'fans' drawn from four couples - Queenslanders Chris and Pas, Kyal and Kara (NSW), Chantelle and Steve (Victoria), and Jesse and Kenny (Queensland.
On the eve of the taking up the challenge to renovate a former movie theatre in Melbourne into four double-story apartments, the duo told us why they're going back for more, and showed their sense of humour is firmly intact.
WHY GO BACK TO THE BLOCK? DALE, IT"S THIRD TIME AROUND FOR YOU - ARE YOU A GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT?
Dale: Every time I've been on The Block it's been different. I was with Soph the first time, Duncan the second, now Brad. I share the love around.
Brad: To get to do it twice is pretty cool. And the chance to get to work with Dale, I knew it would be a bit of a laugh, so it should be good fun.
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR PREVIOUS THE BLOCK EXPERIENCES?
B: Sleep when you can, time management, enjoy yourself
D: Drink when you can, think before you do, budget very carefully. The money goes so quickly
HAS YOUR 'BROMANCE' SURVIVED THE PRESSURE AND THE PROXIMITY?
B: The bromance is alive and well. We added sleeping together this time, so that was a big step forward in our relationship (the team share a tent and bed for several weeks).
It's easier not having to manage a relationship while we're here, but it's also difficult not having the girls with us.
It is a bonus not to have the girls nagging us all the time though.
D: The bromance has only grown, it's as close to a 'bro-gagement' as you can get.
Our bodies are in-synch now; when I need a beer, Brad needs a beer.
BONUSES AND DRAWBACKS OF NOT HAVING THE GIRLS THERE?
B: The girls would do most of the shopping and budgeting.
Now I have to take my own laundry to a laundromat, and get our own food.
The girls looked after us better than we are looking after ourselves.
D: No sex! The positive is there's always beer in the fridge, but it's the only thing in the fridge. We've got two blokes so we can do manual labour and heavy lifting. The best thing is we don't have to put the seat down if we don't want to.
WHO IS THE BEAUTY, AND WHO IS THE BRAINS OF THE OUTFIT?
B: Dale's a bit of a heart-throb and I'm very practical, a thinking person I guess you could say, and well, you've only got to look at me to know I'm an athlete.
D: Is it too much to say one of us could have both? Brad has both ... I'm the dumb one.
ARE YOU SCARED OF ALISA AND LYSANDRA?
B: No, not at all. We just run our own race.
D: Never. I'm only scared of what they do to each other when the doors are shut - they save all their aggressive energy for yelling at each other, we don't cop any of that.
THE BLOCK: FANS V FAVES: MONDAY, 7.30PM, NINE
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