1. Olsen Orekewa Filipaina was a professional rugby league footballer who represented both New Zealand and Western Samoa.
19 Facts About Olsen Filipaina
1. 2.
Olsen Filipaina played for the Balmain Tigers, Eastern Suburbs, and North Sydney Bears during his New South Wales Rugby League premiership career from 1980 to 1987.
3.
Olsen Filipaina's mother was Maori and his father was from Samoa.
4.
Olsen Filipaina was raised in Mangere, and started his career with the Mangere East Hawks in the Auckland Rugby League competition.
5.
Olsen Filipaina moved to Sydney in 1980, joining the Balmain Tigers.
6.
Olsen Filipaina spent five seasons at the club, playing in 82 games and amassing 225 points.
7.
Olsen Filipaina later captained Ryde-Eastwood to victory in the inaugural Metropolitan Cup final in 1990.
8.
An Auckland representative, Olsen Filipaina was part of the Auckland side that defeated Great Britain, Australia and France within the span of 20 days in 1977.
9.
Olsen Filipaina was first picked for the New Zealand national rugby league team in 1977, becoming the first junior player from the Hawks to be selected.
10.
Olsen Filipaina was named the man of the series in 1985.
11.
In total, Olsen Filipaina played in 50 matches for New Zealand, including 28 tests where he scored 108 points.
12.
Olsen Filipaina subsequently changed his national representation to Western Samoa, his father's country of origin.
13.
Olsen Filipaina captained the team in the 1988 Pacific Cup, as well as its inaugural test match that same year.
14.
Olsen Filipaina remained in Sydney after his retirement, living in Ryde.
15.
Olsen Filipaina worked the same garbage run the Balmain Tigers helped him get when he first moved to Australia.
16.
Olsen Filipaina was named one of New Zealand Rugby League's "Legends of League" in 2007.
17.
Olsen Filipaina was the son of a Samoan boxer and a Maori mother.
18.
Olsen Filipaina has five children: Louise, John, Alysha, Quin and Jazmine, and five grandchildren: Tamati, Matahi, Ignatius, Kaimana and Octavia.
19.
In mid-January 2022, Olsen Filipaina was admitted to Westmead Hospital with a stomach infection.