Playing Career
Vital Statistics
- Full Name
- Olsen Orekewa Filipaina
- Born
- Tuesday, 23rd April, 1957
- Died
- Thursday, 10th February, 2022 (Aged 64 years and 293 days)
Biography
Burly Kiwi International centre/five-eighth, the son of a Samoan heavyweight boxer, was one of five brothers to play for East Mangere in Auckland. Filipaina first came to prominence when he played for NZ in the three-Test series in Australia in 1978. Joining Balmain in 1980 his form during his five seasons with the Tigers was largely inconsistent and he was reduced to being a lower grade player with Easts and Norths. Filipaina undoubtedly reserved his best for the Test arena and he proved to be a major factor in NZ's upset wins over Australia in Brisbane in 1983 and in Carlaw Park in the Third Test in 1985. When his Test career ended in 1986, he had the second highest points total in Tests for NZ (6t, 44g - 108pts). In 1990 he captained Ryde-Eastwood to victory in the inaugural Metropolitan Cup competition.
- ALAN WHITICKER
Playing Career Statistics
All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.
To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the List button.
Competitions | ||||||||||||||
| Competition | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tour Matches | New Zealand | 28 | 12 | 36 | - | 109 | 10 | 17 | 1 | 35.71% | List | |||
| World Cup | 7 | - | 8 | - | 16 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 42.86% | List | ||||
| Tour Matches | Auckland | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | |||
| Test Series | 25 | 3 | 44 | - | 99 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 36.00% | List | ||||
| NRL | 109 | 21 | 128 | - | 323 | 43 | 63 | 3 | 39.45% | List | ||||
| ||||||||||||||
Test Matches - By Team | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| New Zealand | 1977-82, 1984-86 | 29 | 6 | 44 | - | 108 | 11 | 17 | 1 | 37.93% | List | |||
World Cup Matches - By Team | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| New Zealand | 1977, 1985-86 | 7 | - | 8 | - | 16 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 42.86% | List | |||
| ||||||||||||||
Australia - By Team | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Auckland | 1977 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | |||
| ||||||||||||||
NRL/NSWRL - By Year | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Season | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Balmain | NSWRFL 1980 | 17 | 5 | 3 | - | 21 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 35.29% | List | |||
| Balmain | NSWRFL 1981 | 17 | 5 | 4 | - | 23 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 29.41% | List | |||
| Balmain | NSWRFL 1982 | 23 | 7 | 21 | - | 63 | 8 | 14 | 1 | 34.78% | List | |||
| Balmain | NSWRFL 1983 | 12 | - | 30 | - | 60 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 58.33% | List | |||
| Balmain | NSWRL 1984 | 13 | 2 | 25 | - | 58 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 38.46% | List | |||
| Eastern Suburbs | NSWRL 1985 | 9 | - | 21 | - | 42 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 44.44% | List | |||
| North Sydney | NSWRL 1986 | 17 | 2 | 24 | / | 28 | 85.71% | - | 56 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 41.18% | List |
| North Sydney | NSWRL 1987 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | |||
NRL/NSWRL - By Team | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Balmain | 1980-84 | 82 | 19 | 83 | - | 225 | 31 | 49 | 2 | 37.80% | List | |||
| Eastern Suburbs | 1985 | 9 | - | 21 | - | 42 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 44.44% | List | |||
| North Sydney | 1986-87 | 18 | 2 | 24 | / | 28 | 85.71% | - | 56 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 44.44% | List |
| Overall | 1980-1987 | 109 | 21 | 128 | 0 | 323 | 43 | 63 | 3 | 39.45% | List | |||
Contributions:
Greg Fiveash, Andrew Ferguson, Rugby League Tables, Paul Carter, Shawn Dollin, Alan Katzmann, Steven Russo, AJ Lucantonio
Sources:
NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1987-88
Your Say
18/05/2011
I found the story of Olsen Filipaina to be totally fascinating. I thought it was a complete mystery how this man would go from being a reserve grade player to being this amazing international test player almost in an instant. Finding out about him being subjected to racism during his rugby league career goes a long way into explaining this paradox. Racism in sport here in Australia must be dealt with severely as not only does it damage the victim unfairly, it deprives sports fans of the pleasure and privilege of watching a sporting legend at his best. Everyone loses out as a result.
17/06/2020
The new book, The Big O by Patrick Skene is an amazing read about Olsen and highlights exactly what the above person said in their comment.
He was a Pasifika pioneer and during his time in Sydney, dealt with constant vile racism, terrible coaching that had no idea of cultural awareness of PI players.
Want to have your say about this player? Add a comment.