Jeremy Dawson is not someone you would associate with being one of the top forwards on premier Australian FIFA website AUSFIFA.
The Sydney native is a bartender by night, student by day, an amateur footballer on weekends and also an avid follower of the Western Sydney Wanderers.
On the outside it would seem that playing video games would just be a hobby for the man known effectively as ‘Jeza’ or by his alias ‘D4W50N_J07’, but delve a little deeper and you would find you couldn’t be further from the truth.
AUSFIFA social media channels
Making his debut in Season 2 of the Australian Virtual Pro League (AVPL) with the now disbanded ’48HoursOfDarkness’, Dawson scored one goal and produced two assists in five games before forming the infamous ‘Feel the Sweat (FTS)’ alongside his brother Jahn.
Starting from scratch and recruiting players on the go, FTS were one of AVPL Season 3’s biggest surprise packages, finishing second in Conference B before going on to make the Conference Final, losing to Blue Flange 6-3 in one of the most enthralling games in AVPL finals history.
With FTS merging with ‘Riot Makers’ to create ‘Not Them Again’ following a disappointing AVPL Season 4, Dawson will be looking to go one step further then that dream run in AVPL Season 3 alongside a fresh batch of talented players.
We caught up with the man himself to hear his thoughts on what has been an intriguing start to his AUSFIFA journey.
Outside90: First off how are things going with work? Have heard you might be on the cusp of a promotion. Will that affect how much time you can spend preparing for the season?
Jeremy Dawson: It’s been pretty hectic recently as I’m in training for a supervisor role at my pub. It definitely will (affect how much time I can play) as most days I will have to do 12 hour shifts e.g. 5pm-5am.
O90: So you’re at uni, where are you studying and what course are you enrolled in?
JD: I’ve enrolled to do my Masters of Clinical Exercise Physiology (Rehabilitation) at Charles Sturt University, Online.
O90: You play football but had an injury last season. How is it travelling and where will you be playing this year?
JD: Yeah I tore my left ankle’s anterior talofibular ligament, the scans read inconclusive about a 3rd degree tear, but yeah have been playing local football at the moment, and have scored 2/2 trial games!
O90: So how long have you played FIFA for? What title (2003,2004 etc) was your first game and what year was your favourite?
JD: Not sure how long exactly, too long! Haha. Pretty sure I started with FIFA 2005 but my favourite was definitely last FIFA (FIFA 2015) with our ‘Feel The Sweat’ side.
O90: How did you discover AUSFIFA and what do you think of the site and its competitions?
JD: Discovered AUSFIFA by a PSN message, and signed up ASAP. The site is great, it made me fall in love with Pro Clubs all over again. There are still many more improvements and innovations to be made though. Competitions are great and of course AVPL is my favourite. AFPL was pretty bad because the purpose of the comp is to be recognised for the player you are, yet no matter how many assists and goals scored players still seem to disregard your ability, so it sort of cancels out the point really.
O90: You founded FTS with your brother and built up one of the best sides in AVPL Season 3 almost from scratch, what was the key to that success and just how disappointing was it to go so close?
JD: The key to success was good banter, finding players that could play specific ROLES well, and consistent practice. Plus team morale was good.
O90: Following that disappointment you were a part of a merge with Riot Makers to form Not Them Again, a side which went on the longest Win Streak in AUSFIFA Rivals history in its debut month! Just how far do you think the new side can go this year?
JD: Yes I’m very excited about the prospects in the team. We are definitely the most hated team on AUSFIFA but that’s what I love about us. We are united and have each other’s backs. It’s a shame that we can’t drop our reputation for being bastards, because we actually have a quality side. I can tell you that the club owners expect nothing less then quarter finals. I believe we have a squad on our day to rival even Black Bull/Calf. It’s Pied Piper that I’m worried about.
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