In my mind, that’s still “right around the corner”. They’re up 7-5 now. Based on past seasons, the merge is almost always at 10, but sometimes as early as 12 and as late as 8. They’ve still got Courtney as a safe vote-off next time if they lose another. Chances are they merge at 10 with 7-3 or 6-4 numbers. Even without Rob, it’s doubtful the Heroes will win 2 IC’s in a row.
Besides, once the merge happens, I think anyone who expects Tribal loyalty to win out this season is in for a surprise.
I think Sandra is the better choice to vote out next. Some challenges involve strapping one survivor to a harness and then having the rest of the team yank them around with ropes, or lifting/carrying other survivors, or fitting everyone on a small platform. While basically useless for most challenges, Courtney is an ace-in-the-hole for these types of things. Sandra is every bit as useless in physical challenges and doesn’t even have these upsides.