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Rugby league trailblazer Olsen Filipaina was one of the first Māori-Pacific stars of Australia's professional competition in 1980, leaving his home and everything he knew in Mangere, Auckland, to play for Sydney's Balmain Tigers.
He played 29 tests for New Zealand and more than 100 first grade games, but it came at a cost of with experiences of racism, cultural dislocation and depression.
Olsen said it was his love for his mother Sissie, and the women in his life, that helped him through it all.
Olsen and partner Leslie, freshly returned from the hospital with newborn baby Louise in 1981. Photo: Supplied
"They were very important [to me]. We wouldn't be talking now, and people would be saying 'who is Olsen Filipaina' if it wasn't for them," he said.
For as long as Olsen could remember, it was always the women working behind the scenes. Even today, women are seen as the backbone of local rugby league clubs, and Sissie was just that.
She was the mother at the centre of the Mangere East community. A legend of the club and of Auckland rugby league, whose home was always open to guests. Olsen's team mates remembered her as a mother on a mission to "fatten them up" and whose verbal presence never went unnoticed at games.
Sissie was Olsen's world and the core of his upbringing, so it was no surprise to hear that it was her decision for him to leave the country. And as tough as it was for Olsen, he believed it was a decision made for the greater good.
The Filipaina family in front of the family car in Mangere East (Olsen fourth from left). Photo: Supplied
"It was very very hard because as you know, we're a very close-knit family, Polynesians, and it was just a matter of my parents saying go, respecting them and their decision, and just going with it and that's what I did," he said.
"The way I was brought up was to listen to your elders, regardless of what decision it is [and] it turns out to be good for you in the long run, which to me it has, you know looking back at what I've gone through and what's happening now with the Pacific Islander players and Melanesian players that are playing in the competition now."
Moving away from home was tough. He dreaded leaving his family and had second thoughts about boarding the plane. His partner, Leslie, also pleaded for him to stay, but a few words from Sissie were enough to get him on the flight.
The culture shock was immediate. Devastated and homesick, he was soon ready to quit.
But it was the support of his adoptive 'Aussie family' Phil, and his wife Margaret Dries, that helped him deal with the separation from his aiga back home.
The Dries family were crucial to Olsen's transition. Phil had got him a job as a garbage collector, which meant early mornings and extra money to send home to his family.
Olsen's father, Aloese, was always calling for him to send money back home and eventually Margaret froze his accounts so that Olsen could save money for a house. It was a difficult task, because Olsen would never think of himself and always did what his father said, but it was something Margaret hoped would secure his future.
"They did a hell of a lot for me, hell of a lot. One of the best people I could have ever asked to live with when I first got there and they treated me exactly like their own son," he said.
"They've got two adopted children as well, and so it was nothing new to them to have another one."
Olsen encountered racism and hatred from opposition teams, crowds and sometimes even his own team-mates. Balmain coach Frank Stanton gave him a hard time on the training fields and he would return home feeling miserable because of the way he was being treated.
It was a promise to his mum that kept him from lashing out.
The Filipaina family. Photo: Supplied
"I made a promise to my mother that I wouldn't embarrass the name and Polynesians and getting into fights because you know our reaction is hit first and ask questions later but it's too late. You've already tarnished your culture and your parents because of what you've done and your team-mates also suffer the same thing," he said.
"Whoever called me a racist name or gave me a poke in the eye or did whatever they wanted to do to me, I took their number down and got them in a hard tackle and I said to them 'if you do that again, I'm going to hit you even harder' and that's how I got back at them.
"I think it was 1981, 82, I got voted the hardest tackler and hardest guy to tackle and that was mainly because of what players were trying to do to me, just to get me off my game and everything else."
As the days went on, Olsen's homesickness grew stronger and the phone calls back home went longer. The telephone was a lifeline for Olsen, one time racking up an $800 phone bill to talk to his mum. It was a phone call worth every cent, he said.
"The hardest thing was not being able to talk to any family, whānau.... and I didn't want them worrying about me.
"I paid for that, I had to make sure I paid for it. I was working too so it didn't bother me, it was worth the money ringing home and talking to someone."
Eventually, his partner Leslie moved over. He said her support was invaluable to his wellbeing, both physically and mentally.
Leslie would have to massage his bruised body, "digging in the elbows and walking on his back to get him going" so he wouldn't miss his 2am garbage shift. But she also stood with him in solidarity when he was racially abused by crowds.
Olsen admitted she helped him through some of his darkest times.
Olsen and his wife Leslie in front of Te Huruhi Marae in Awarua. Photo: Supplied
"A lot of the stuff she went through she held back as well, during games and after games from young team-mates. She went through a hell of a lot, but did the same as me and just held it in. If we had did what we wanted to do well, I wouldn't have lasted even half a season."
While Filipaina had a lot of trouble with the Balmain coach, Graham Lowe was able to get him to play at his best.
He said Lowe's understanding of the Pasifika culture made an impact on his game, after a word from Sissie first.
"He got in touch with my mum before the 1985 series and it did blow me away because when he told me I thought 'oh I'm going to get in trouble if I don't play' and so I ended up pulling up my socks. Graham Lowe said to me if I didn't play she would clip me across the ears, and she would have done it regardless if she was around or not.
"It makes a difference when you've been brought up in that Polynesian culture and Graham Lowe had coached Otahuhu. As you know they've been one of the top sides in New Zealand for years, and it's just the way he gets across to the Polynesians and he understands that it's not one size fits all.
Filipaina said playing for New Zealand helped put him "back together again".
New Zealand Kiwis player Olsen Filipaina in action with Howie Tamati behind. www.photosport.nz Photo: © Photosport Ltd www.photosport.nz
"It kept me together playing for New Zealand every time I went through these bad situations, racial stuff and all that over here. Playing for New Zealand held me together and put me back together again more or less, and made me stronger to go back and do more for our players over here and for New Zealand Rugby League which I hope I have done."
He said when he looked back he was glad that he stuck it out.
"If you look at what Tonga and Samoa and how these Pacific games are played now, they love it. Good hard physical contact and it gives us a chance to play our own style of rugby league, instead of having to go back to the Aussie style with all that flair, unloading, and scoring these fantastic tries. It gives us a chance to showcase what our style of football is and always will be."
He said seeing the evolution of Māori and Pacific Islanders playing the sport professionally had been a dream come true.
"It was just a matter of time before it happened, because to me, the Polynesians are born athletes. It would be good to see more involved in the tennis, other sports, golf, NFL and all that but that's slowly happening.
"To watch all the players playing now and actually getting the money we deserve, it really is a dream come true."
Over the last 40 years we've seen a Pacific boom in the sport and today up to 48 percent of NRL players have Māori or Pasifika heritage.
A dream come true for Olsen Filipaina, but one that wouldn't have been possible without the women in his life.
His mother Sissie was the lighthouse showing him the way through the storm while his adoptive mother, Margaret, helped him and Leslie build a life in Australia. Leslie helped him through his depression and his first born daughter, Louise, gave him inspiration and courage to deal with anything that might come his way.
Filipaina believed these women were the backbone of a Pacific sporting revolution.