Rodney Olsson

Rodney Olsson
Personal information
Date of birth	(1942-04-23) 23 April 1942
Original team	Old Scotch
Height/Weight	187 cm / 89 kg
Playing career¹
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1962-1969	Hawthorn	116 (64)
Coaching career
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1976-1979	Geelong	91 (45-46-0)
¹ Playing statistics correct to end of 1969 season.

Rodney Olsson (born 23 April 1942) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who played with Hawthorn in the VFL during the 1960s.

Olsson was a ruck-rover for Hawthorn but when he started his career he played as a half forward as well as on the half back flanks. He was a member of the Hawthorn side which lost the 1963 Grand Final to Geelong, the club he would later coach.

He spent the early 1970s in Tasmania as playing coach of Sandy Bay. In what would be the club's strongest era he steered them to the 1971 and 1972 TFL premierships and to another Grand Final in 1973, which they lost despite winning 20 consecutive games that year. As a player he also had success and was a William Leitch Medalist in both 1971 and 1973.

In 1976 Olsson returned to the VFL and he coached Geelong for four seasons, twice making the finals.

References

Rodney Olsson's statistics from AFL Tables
Coaching record
Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.

Coaches of the Geelong Football Club

1910–1911: Hickinbotham 1912–1913: Eason 1914: Orchard 1923: Taylor 1924: Hagger 1925–1927: Rankin 1928: Fitzmaurice 1929–1930: Coghlan 1931: Clymo 1932: Hickey 1933–1934: Coghlan 1935: Parratt 1936: Dibbs 1936–1940: Hickey 1940: Everett 1940: Laver 1941: Metherell 1944: Arklay 1945–1959: Hickey 1956; 1960–1965: Davis 1963: Trezise 1966–1970: Pianto 1971–1972: McMaster 1973–1975: Farmer 1976–1979: Olsson 1980–1982: Goggin 1983–1985: Hafey 1986–1988: Devine 1989–1994: Blight 1995–1999: Ayres 2000–2010: Thompson 2011–: Scott

Italics denote caretaker coach