OLARENSHAW, Rick

Ricky Olarenshaw was one of the rising stars at Essendon in the 1993 premiership year. A local boy, he started well at Essendon winning the Under 19s Best and Fairest in 1991. He became the regular wingman for Essendon, a logical choice given his pace, excellent ball skills and evasive ability.

He was the link between the back line and the forward line, helping to set up many attacking plays. In the 1993 Grand Final he was the best player on the ground in the first quarter, really setting up the Essendon win.

Olarenshaw's career was affected by a serious rib injury in 1995 and continuing problems with his back. He was one of the most popular players at Essendon, and towards the end of 1996 he was again gaining regular selection in the senior team.

He was traded to Collingwood in the 1998 trade period for pick 12. He was troubled by numerous injuries and only played five games for the Magpies. Essendon used pick 12 to select Adam Ramanauskas, so certainly had the better of that deal.

Olarenshaw was traded to the Kangaroos in the 2000 trade period but retired at the end of 2001 after just one game.

Although a physiotherapist by profession, after his retirement he spent some time as a TV and radio football commentator. He later established athletes1, a player management company.

He moved to Indonesia in 2013 and opened three F45 gyms, combining this with a successful career as a playing coach with AFL Asia teams. He led the Bali Geckos to back-to-back Division 2 success in 2016-17 and the Indonesian Volcanoes to Division 1 glory in 2018. He then coached the AFL Asia Lions against the Team China AFL Dragons in the game held before the Port Adelaide vs. St Kilda match in Shanghai in 2019.