Let the mudslinging begin!

As work gets underway on the backyards, the sight of cash-strapped Kyle and Leslie’s vast landscaping army has all the neighbours talking (especially Leah).

Nobody could understand how the West Australian couple were managing to have so much labour with their meagre budget of $40,000.

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“We are absolutely stretched, dollar wise,” Leslie moaned, after admitting that she understood that it could seem suspicious because it “visually looked like a lot” to the other teams who were watching.

In fact, the couple had cleverly negotiated a fixed rate with their landscaper, which meant that they would pay him $40,000 no matter how many hours of labour he supplied, or how many bells and whistles he included in the design.

Kyle and Leslie’s cut price landscaping army. Picture: Supplied, Channel 9

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And that design included tiles imported from Turkey for their above-ground pool, marble paving stones and custom-made steel arches.

Kyle said they had always been clear about their garden budget. Therefore, he felt it was within the rules for his landscaper to go the extra nine yards on his own dime if he chose to do that.

Unsurprisingly, Kyle and Leslie’s approach didn’t go down too well with Brett and Kristy or Leah and Ash — who have all had their eyes on the Ford Mustang (which will be awarded in the final week).

“Their budget is the same as our budget this week,” Kristy fumed.

“We are both spending $40,000. By my calculations, trade alone would come in at $20,000 and that’s not including tilers, or materials or plumbers. And they haven’t won since week one, that we know of…”

This was of course an allusion to Liberty and Eliza’s secret gnome a few weeks back, which kicked off her feud with former bestie Leah. Kristy clearly hasn’t let go.

Interestingly, despite the fact that both Kristy and Leah shared the same outrage over Leslie and Kyle’s garden tactics, it hasn’t brought the two mean girls back together.

Foreman Dan notes Kyle and Lesley’s fancy imported Turkish tiles would have cost a bomb. Picture: Supplied, Channel 9

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Instead, Kristy decided to keep her head down (and simply bag out Kyle and Leslie to Brett and in her interviews) and leave it to Leah to spearhead a confrontation.

Meanwhile Leah had gone the full Mrs Mangel; spending every spare moment she had spying on the neighbours to gather intel on what she saw as dirty tactics.

“In my head I am thinking, we have seven people in our yard, and I am barely affording it with $70,000 and next door there’s an ant army,” Leah said as she and Ash stood in the street marvelling at how many people Kyle and Leslie had working in their yard.

It wasn’t just the volume of people undertaking the work that had Leah suspicious of dodgy dealings. She noted that cash-strapped Leslie’s garden featured a lot of pricey fixtures.

“There’s not a chance that they are doing a backyard like this for $40,000,” she declared.

Even if Kyle and Leslie had negotiated a fixed quote, she argued that it needed to be “reasonable”. Angry that Kyle and Leslie might be getting a lot of the work gratis, she flirted with asking the pair’s landscaper to present his books at a body corporate meeting.

“Playing fair is very important to us,” Leah said. “You can’t have a competition without rules.”

Kristy smells a rat, but this time she’s leaving the open warfare to Leah. Picture: Supplied, Channel 9

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As a cast of thousands tiled the ground at House One, at the other end of Charming St the girls had a team of just two people doing their garden – a 21-year-old go-getter landscaper and his teenage apprentice.

“We feel overwhelmed with the smallness of our team but at the same time it’s all we need at this point. We look over at house one and its confronting but too many hands and I think it would be a disaster,” Eliza said.

And where were Steph and Gian during all this? Well poor Steph was back home in Sydney attending her grandfather’s funeral while Gian kept powering on with their garden.

Things were going relatively well until Gian also received the heartbreaking news that his grandfather had also died.

Unlike everyone else, their many wins had left them flush with cash. They had roughly $138,000 left to get their outdoor spaces finished. Given they were in a far better position than everyone else, Steph decided to offer Leah some of her sponsor dollars to help her with outdoor furnishings.

Remarkably, Leah was only too happy to take that money despite the fact she had spent much of the show bagging Steph out to anyone who would listen.

Yes, she has repented on her mean girl ways, but it’s doubtful Steph would be as generous if she knew the whole story.

Once in the store, Leah discovered Steph had far more store credit than she had thought, calling her rival to generously “offer to take the full $16,000 off her hands”.

To her dismay and confusion, Steph wanted to think about it given she’d only anticipated gifting Leah $5000 not more than three times that already sizable sum.

Leah in Mrs Mangel mode. Picture: Supplied, Channel 9

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Incredulous at the inconvenience of having to wait to be gifted thousands of dollars, Leah moaned to the salesman: “I am glad I came and looked at things I can’t have” as she left the shop empty handed.

The sisters, meanwhile were having far more luck (and gratitude) for their gifts.

The pair were delighted to get to spend a night at the Langham as a reward for last week’s bathroom victory.

On top of that, Scotty Cam took them on a Pretty Woman-style shopping spree in the Paris end of town where the duo tried on clothes as they sipped champagne.

Upon returning to site, they were further rewarded with the weekly Best on Block prize of $10,000.

Not bad for a week’s work.

MISSED AN EPISODE?

Ep 41: $30k error ruins Block villains’ horror week

Ep 39/40: ‘She is unhinged!’: The Block’s nastiest fight so far

Ep 38: Unlikely Block friendship raises eyebrows

Ep 37: Block’s ‘Mrs. Positive’ cracks at judges criticism

Ep 35/36: Kristy calls out Leah’s own two-faced Block bullying

Ep 34: Scott Cam bemused by most awkward Block dinner ever

Ep 33: Leah and Kristy go all out in bitter Block bust-up

Ep 31/32: ‘Crew hates them’: Drunk Kristy’s spray shocks the Block

Ep 30: ‘Something is wrong here’: Truth about Block villain becomes clear

Ep 29: ‘Make The Block great again’ — Kristy’s shock Trump-style stance

Ep 27/28: ‘I’ve had enough’: Brett’s foul spray at Block producer

Ep 26: Australia turns on ‘revolting’ two Block couples

Ep 25: ‘F*** that!’: Kirsty rages at Block sisters ‘sympathy trip’

Ep 23/24: Foreman bribe has Block ‘fake friend’ seeing red

Ep 22: Block sisters left reeling after builder’s text

Ep 21: ‘It’s the Titanic for them’: Shaynna savages ‘micro room’

Ep 19/20: Tensions flare over one Block team’s ‘s***ty attitude’

Ep 18: Knives come out over cocktails with Scott Cam

Ep: 17: Block’s controversial moss wall leaves a bad taste

Ep 15/16: Block team rushed to hospital after falling down manhole

Ep 14: Block sisters plot bizarre bathroom feature

Ep 13: Blockheads baffled after being punished for following orders

Ep 11/12: Dangerous near miss as Block home’s ceiling collapses

Ep 10: ‘A***hole real estate agent’ — new judge cops massive spray

Ep 9: ‘Better if left empty’: Block judges deliver brutal feedback

Ep 7/8: Real reason Block team is shielding their windows

Ep 6: ‘Don’t speak to me ever again’: Rogue dad brings Block drama

Ep 5: Block team gets dad to help, accused of rule breaking

Ep 3 & 4: ‘Secretive and fake’ — Battle lines drawn over Block agents

Ep 2: Stumble out of the blocks: Team demolishes wrong room

Ep 1: ‘Fugly as’: Contestants unimpressed with Block houses

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