Rodney Stuart Olsson (born 23 April 1942) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er and coach who played with

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

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 Medal The William Leitch Medal, named after the highly regarded former Australian rules player and Tasmanian Football Administrator William Douglas Leitch (1863-1943), was an annual award which was presented to the best and fairest player in the TANFL ...

ist in both 1971 and 1973. In 1976 Olsson returned to the VFL and he coached Geelong for four seasons, twice making the finals.

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Coaching record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsson, Rodney 1942 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Hawthorn Football Club players Geelong Football Club coaches William Leitch Medal winners Sandy Bay Football Club players Sandy Bay Football Club coaches Woodville Football Club coaches Old Scotch Football Club players Living people