The Hockeyroo from the Gold Coast and junior Hockeyroo defender Ashlea Fey, 21, are in the mix of the Dean Hulls-coached Central Mysticks women's team who started their National Hockey League (NHL) campaign last weekend with losses to Wellington (4-1) in Levin on Saturday and Canterbury (1-0) in Christchurch on Sunday.
The question on Olivieri's tomboyishness arose after she revealed her aggressive and physical approach in the opening rounds of the NHL didn't sit too comfortably with New Zealand players in the opposition.
"I gave a few girls a shove and a push and they didn't like it," she says with a laugh, adding a couple of players refused to shake her hand after the games and a few choice words were exchanged on the turf.
A firm believer of what happens on the field stays on it, Olivieri says a natural striker is innately rougher and tougher on the turf especially if she's going for the ball.
"I'm a lovely person off the field," says the Queensland Scorchers player but in the same breath emphasises she isn't about to change that in-your-face demeanour during the NHL campaign any time soon.
"It's not just about going in rough but doing it the right way. I'm aggressive but I'm not there just to punch someone."
Her pugnacious persona stems from her childhood days when hanging out with the boys helped mould a desirable mental fortitude.
"I trained with the boys all my life so they showed me no mercy or sympathy."
A 100m and 200m sprinter in school, Olivieri gravitated towards turfdom because of the opportunity to travel and the camaraderie a team environment offers.
Having studied and holding fitness qualifications, the Aussie has ambitions to become a policewoman and have children once she hangs up her stick.
"I'm single and some of the girls here are already trying to set me up with guys," she says, cracking up, but accepting elite sport equates to a nomadic lifestyle that leaves little time to socialise, let alone establishing meaningful relationships.
She and Fey find the New Zealand culture infectious although the weather is a far cry from the Gold Coast where the fan base isn't as big as the numbers who watched the game last weekend in the NHL.
The passion of the hockey clan is equally mesmerising.
"I was talking to Shea McAleese and he was talking about the haka they perform and that shows me how much passion and pride there is here and how special that is to him," she says of the Bay-born Black Sticks vice-captain who is the rookie men's Central Mavericks coach/player this year.
Capital thrashed Mavericks 5-2 on Saturday and the latter succumbed 4-2 to the Cantabrians the following day.
Olivieri and Fey are based in Palmerston North since arriving in the country last Thursday but have been billeting in Havelock North for the past two days.
"Ash [Fey] is a Hockeyroo of the future and will make her debut as a great defender," Olivieri says, pointing out the Australia women's team, who are sixth in the world, have a strong defensive line up.
"She's also a drag flicker, so that's great."
The Mysticks' loss to Canterbury, Olivieri says, was a tougher game despite the yawning scoreline against Capital. "That game was quicker and even though we didn't score we blended better."
The remaining NHL rounds will be played at North Harbour in a tourney-type format.
