Today we’re talking Hammer with Team Australia AOS captain, Jordan Rees.  Jordy was part of the Aussie team that returned an outstanding 5-1 result at Worlds a couple of months ago, and we’ll be going through the present and future of that team as well as Jordy’s thoughts on AOS4, life in the world’s most isolated city, TTS, the Barassi Line and Ned Kelly. 

Ready?  Let’s go.

PC: Jordy!  Let’s throw ‘em a bit of candy to start off with: what’s your number one tip for winning games in AOS4, for people who are still finding their way in the edition?

Right now the main things are: 

• An understanding of what your army is capable of;
• A good understanding of what your opponent’s army is capable of; and
• Having a good idea of how the map is laid out and how the scoring on the mission works.  

This will give you a better idea on how to approach your tactics and scoring, and how your opponent is going to approach theirs. By focusing on keeping the scores closer, it becomes a lot easier to make small changes to your game that will allow you to start getting more consistent wins.

Either that, or just play Nighthaunt or Lumineth.

PC: Ha! Now talk me through Australia’s 5-1 at Worlds.  We’d held up our end in previous iterations, going 3-3 both times while lowering the colours of far bigger countries like the USA and Germany.  But this was a major step up in performance.  What drove that outstanding result? 

I think there were quite a few factors: 

1. A lot of our players had been playing the same army since the team was announced. Although there might have been some testing here and there, 5 out of our 8 armies were basically being played by their player from September onwards. I do think that was made possible due to the relative stability of the game however. 

2. Everyone really understood their respective roles.  We won most games that we had deemed something we should win, so there weren’t really many times where we walked away wondering how we’d given up a lot of points in a round. 

3. The team’s willingness to grind.  At one point a few weeks before flying to Europe we had some people just grinding out ridiculous numbers of games.  Now naturally this isn’t feasible for everyone, but the whole team was really putting in the effort where they could. 

I think the main thing in the end though was how well the team gelled together, including the coaches and the team. Everyone was constantly in communication with everyone else, constantly making updates, asking questions, building lists, running through scenarios. There was no ego that was detrimental to the team, and I think this was what really allowed us to perform to the level we did.

PC: I know the Netherlands reasonably well, and they hosted the event two times in a row.  What were your thoughts on the place, and how do you feel about the rotation to Austria next year? 

I thought Amsterdam was brilliant: the options for breakfast and lunch in the buffet were great, and having a gym/pool/sauna there meant I was able to relax at times.  The room set-up was really well done.  But honestly I would have to say the best part about it was that everyone was staying at the same location; I think that made it so much easier to get to know more people from other teams, and it made the days before and the night times after our games that much more enjoyable. 

That is probably one of my worries with Austria. Potentially some of the camaraderie that we had the opportunity to create this year might be harder to build. But I have also heard a lot of positive things about the events they run, and being near the mountains, I’m hoping to get a few climbs in.

PC: There’s been some churn in the team and Leadership: To put it bluntly, it takes ages and costs a fucking bomb to travel to Europe from Australia, so you’ll always have rotation in who puts up their hand from one year to the next.  We’ve also had rotation in the captaincy from Tyrell to Smorgan to Irongutsman to you.  So what’s your vision for the team and the structure around it? 

Naturally I want to improve on our performance from this year, but on top of that I really want to build up the strength and availability of players in not only Australia but also the Oceanic region. Which is why we are aiming for the wider squad of 16. 

Our intention is to have an initial team of 16 players (selected through two rounds of applications), which we’ll then narrow down to 8 playing members for Worlds itself. The first wave has just completed, with the announcement of 12 initial team members, meaning that applications are now open for the final four spots. We’ll come back to that in a little bit.

The idea behind this structure is that we’ll be able to run two teams of 8 for scrims against other countries and also amongst ourselves.  It allows for the team to experience competition amongst themselves, and it allows for wider discussion amongst the team so we are getting broader approaches to subjects/meta/lists and so on. 

It also allows us to test more lists and get double the information. Because we are at the start of a new Edition going into Worlds 2025, there are going to be a lot more unknown factors when compared to the last iteration, so information is going to be a key factor. It already showed at Worlds this year when two of the main standout armies were the Monster Mash Slaanesh and the FEC packed out with loads of Crypt Guard and Beastflayers.  These were two of the strongest lists but were not really fully represented.

The extended team allows us to finalise the strongest team at a later date, not just purely based on player ability but also on personality, how they work as a team and how involved in training/practice they are.

The final reason is that it allows us to blood new players into the Team Australia environment and culture who for any number of reasons might not be able to make Worlds next year, or are not quite at the level yet.  It’ll help the group to grow and become better players for the future.

I have more plans once I have the wider team selected that will hopefully incorporate the other Oceanic countries as well. I am also hopeful of trying to get some systems in place that will make it easier in future for people to get to Worlds as no matter where you go, it’s not a cheap trip for any of us.

PC: Love it.  One cool thing about the team is the Ned Kelly branding.  I bet that sparked a few conversations with other teams?  

Yeah I think a few people were confused by it when we explained it, wondering why we would have a criminal on our dice, but the UK teams saw the irony in it.

PC: Haha yeah.  Nathan T said that he was explaining it by describing Ned as our Robin Hood, which probably helps them make sense of it.  Funnily enough his actual armour is in the State Library of Victoria and I took my daughter to see it a few weeks back.

The original Power Armour. “Dad, why is is covered in dings and dents?” Those would be bullet dings.

PC: There was a high-profile Tweet from the English raising the issue of sportsmanship at the event.  What was Team Australia’s experience of this at Worlds 2024 – were there any times when you felt that your opponents didn’t approach things in the right spirit?

This was a little bit of a touchy subject from this year. There was some controversy in regards to players sticking to the Players’ Code and specific gotcha moments that happened throughout Worlds. I know we managed to avoid the worst of it and the countries we played were mostly fantastic, but there were definitely a few moments for our team where it felt like it was crossing the line. I am fairly certain we won all the games where it did happen, so it didn’t affect us like it did other countries. 

PC: I’m friendly with a lot of people who’ve been in previous Aussie teams and from conversations I’ve had, there was a general feeling that the team in those early years might need to develop a harder competitive edge to be ready for the way some opponents approach their games.  Are there any actions Team Australia felt they had to take to address that?  Either in team selection, or in training to be ready for it. 

I do think that our team was still a little bit on the lenient side for most of our rounds, but I do also think as we got further and further into the tournament we starting taking a harder to approach to the games. Not in a way that could be against the spirit of the game, but more making our intentions clear on how we are playing the game and in what actions we are taking.

It was definitely something we tried to push leading up to Worlds in our training and conversations: we had some of the kindest souls on our team, so it was definitely against the grain for some of them, but I do think that in the end everyone learnt to have that harder edge in their games while also keeping within the spirit of the game.

PC: I was part of the first Aussie AOS team myself for Luxemburg in 2022, but Covid killed that event so I never got the chance.  Not sure that chance will ever come around again for me personally, but what’s your message to anyone interested in applying for Team Australia 2025? 

Step forward, we are going for that podium spot that narrowly escaped us this year! I am confident in our ability to build on last year and the support group we have will be expanded in this coming year. And for those who are interested in potentially being involved in the future, please don’t be shy, apply as well. Make it known you are looking to build to a spot in the future and we can try to get you involved in practices, conversations and in games with others from the region.

The initial 12 players have just been announced which means that the second wave is now open, with up to 4 spots still available.

You can apply right here so if you want to get involved, now is the time.

PC: Let’s talk about AOS in WA.  To give it some context, Perth is the most isolated city on earth, so you guys in WA are pretty disconnected from the scene in the Eastern states.  What’s the AOS scene like in Perth and WA? 

It had fallen off for a little bit in the first year of 3rd Edition, outside of teams and doubles events which are always extremely popular – but singles had fallen off a little. Now we are starting to see some of our biggest singles events since I have been involved in AOS, which has helped some of our players to really step up the skill level. It is still in a growth phase, but it’s getting better.

PC: Are you effectively all one big club and gaming group in Perth, or are there multiple rival dojos?  

There are only really two main places people play at: Beyond in Balcatta, and Outpost in South Perth. But everyone tends to just go between the two, so no proper rivalry there. As for teams / gaming groups there are quite a few teams who are regulars at team events with continuity across a few years, so you do usually have your 4-5 mainstays per group.

The main teams in W.A. would be Haus of Heroes who are also our main event organisers, Mean Green Krumpin’ Machines, Team Outpost, Juggernaut and the team I am associated with, Git Mob.

Teams event culture is strong in WA

PC: One of the great things about Australian life is going to a different state, drinking their local beer all weekend and telling them it tastes like piss.  Have any WA guys travelled to the Eastern state tourneys, and how did they go?  

We had a few players go over to Bathurst: I believe it was a couple years back, with one player getting 3rd place. And we’ve had a few guys over to Cancon each of the last two years, with I believe all of them going 3-2. Unfortunately it’s a really expensive trip anywhere we head over east so that does limit how often we can get across. I am hopeful we will see it become more of a regular occurrence in the future though as our community continues to grow.

PC:  And what about the other way around – have you had many interstate visitors to your events?  

Unfortunately not.  We have been fortunate enough to have Coach over to play some games locally a few times, but our events are still mostly on the smaller side, generally only getting one or two 5-game tournaments a year.

PC: So what’s your biggest two-dayer?  Which one should people mark on their calendar if they’re keen to come and see what’s going on? 

Our main Two Dayer is Battlemaster which is generally considered our State Masters event, run by the Haus of Heroes team at Beyond in Balcatta.  Now we have been fortunate enough to get a second GT running which is Skulls, which is run by the Outpost team.

PC:  Next time you’ve got your main GT, don’t be a stranger!  With a bit of notice and the lists in advance, we’ll be happy to run a list review and make some enemies.  What social media presence from your side should we be keeping an eye on – are there any WA-focussed blogs, YouTube channels or podcasts for us to follow?  

I will be looking at getting into this in the lead-up to worlds but for the moment be sure to follow the Australian Worlds account or myself @JordyRAoS. I will be sure to update once the team gets rolling with some sort of content.

PC: Are you planning any IRL meetups / scrims?  And conversely how much interaction do you have with the rest of the country / team on TTS? 

Team Australia’s Liam is organising a State Teams event in Sydney for April 2025, and I was hoping that if the Worlds was in June it would have been possible to do some sort of meetup / training day around that event.  We will be scrimming a lot on TTS; I already have other teams that are just waiting on us to be ready. 

I speak to a lot of players on TTS around Australia, and a lot of us are all playing the same online events pretty often, so you do get a good amount of communication going.

PC:  How well do you find TTS translates to IRL games?  Are both required for anyone intending to apply to Team Australia AOS? 

I think the practice you get on TTS is very valuable for growth as a player and in this situation as a team, it allows you to more easily run through a far larger variety of scenarios, and allows you to play a higher level of competition more reliably.  If we circle back to my first comments in this article, it’s a great way to build up that deep knowledge of what makes armies (and Battleplans) tick. It also allows you to test lists with models you don’t own a lot easier (although you can proxy IRL). 

Having said that, I think to play at an event like Worlds you really need to have had some high-quality tournament games IRL too. You have multiple factors that come into play that are just a lot harder to replicate on TTS: Your physical condition over a weekend, the emotional highs and lows / adrenaline dumps, and knowing you are actually able to play your army to the clock. 

You just can’t get those to the same level on TTS as you can in tournaments. Quite a few members of the team got to Europe early to play in some tournaments (as well as the singles event at Worlds) to ensure we had that Table readiness going into the event.

So to answer the initial question: Yes access to TTS is required, but we also recognise that everyone’s situation is different and the ability to demonstrate frequent, high-quality local practice will also go a long way.

PC: Is there anyone you think is a complete flog that shouldn’t bother applying? 

I don’t personally know anyone in that category, but I do think most people do deserve a chance at redemption. Sometimes it just takes making them realize what they are doing and how they are causing issues. Having said that, it is also one of the advantages of doing a wider team followed by a final selection later as you can really see how people are over a longer period of time and deal with it appropriately. 

Also it’s Liam.

PC:  Eagles or Freo? 

I don’t really watch too much AFL so I don’t really support a team. But I do enjoy watching the Finals and if I was too support either, it would be Freo.

PC:  Is there much buzz around the new NRL team? 

Not yet! But I know as we get closer to 2027 it will definitely increase. I imagine for a lot of people like myself who support the NZ Warriors, having a team in Perth will draw a lot of people to them as a second team.

PC: Huh. You’re on the wrong side of the Barassi Line to be a big League guy, let alone the NZ Warriors. What’s the story behind you supporting an NZ team? 

So I was born and raised in Christchurch and moved to Perth when I was 20, a few years after the Christchurch Earthquakes. I was extremely fortunate to get the opportunity to move over here to work in the mines and have now been here 11 years. So I have been a Warriors supporter since day one, including the many frustrations and heartbreaks

PC: Fair enough. I moved here from England at a similar time, but I binned any interest in soccer pretty rapidly. I was saying to a couple of friends the other day that growing up in England, at the time I thought I loved the EPL, but what I was actually in love with was being with my mates and day drinking.

So to wrap things up, do you have any final thoughts or comments?

I am hoping that this year can be the starting point to really establish a strong community of players in Australia that goes across the entire country. I know throughout the country we have strong groups in many areas but my hope is that we can start to build connections everywhere.

Shoutouts to the WA scene, the Git Mob and the 2024 Worlds team, without you guys this wouldn’t be possible.

Don’t forget that applications are now open for the second and final round of the Worlds 2025 Team. Please get your applications in if you are interested, or even if you want to get involved with the community that we are hoping to establish.

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