Graham Jennings (born 18 January 1960) is a former

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

association footballer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, who played predominantly as a defender and was renowned for his speed, earning him the nickname ''flash''. After a distinguished club and international career spanning twenty years, Jennings was inducted into the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the 1996 AFL season, centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media pe ...

in 1999, receiving the Award of Distinction. Graham is married to wife Louise, and has three children.

Club career

A native of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, Jennings began playing football at the age of seven with local team Hamilton Azzurri. As a teenager, he moved to one of the region's biggest clubs in Adamstown Rosebud, and eventually made his senior debut at the age of 16. In 1978, he earned his first representative cap with Northern New South Wales, and after impressive displays for the Australian youth team later that year, he joined

Sydney Olympic Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club, based in Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states o ...

in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

Sydney Olympic

Playing initially as an attacking winger, Jennings' first season with Olympic witnessed relegation from the NSL, but he played a key role in helping the club achieve promotion in 1980. The arrival of

Manfred Schaefer Manfred Schaefer (12 February 1943 – 28 March 2023) was a German soccer player who played as a defender. At club level he won titles with St. George Budapest. Born in Germany, he represented the Australian national team internationally, pa ...

to Pratten Park resulted in a move to left-back, a position he would make his own for the remainder of his career. After consecutive finals appearances with Olympic in 1984 (losing in the Grand Final to

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

) and 1985, Jennings transferred to rivals

Sydney Croatia Sydney United 58 Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club and current NSW NPL Champions based in Edensor Park, Sydney, New South Wales Australia. The club was formed as Sydney Croatia in 1958, by Croatian Australians in the area, but it ...

Sydney Croatia

Jennings tasted success immediately with Croatia, helping them claim the Minor Premiership in the Northern Conference in 1986. He played in all but two games for the club in 1988, as Croatia stormed their way into the Grand Final only to lose to Marconi-Fairfield in a penalty-shootout. After a disappointing season the following year, he moved to A.P.I.A. Leichhardt.

A.P.I.A. and Newcastle

Jennings was an ever present in the A.P.I.A squad, but once the club was demoted from the NSL, he returned to his hometown, firstly with Adamstown Rosebud and then with the Newcastle Breakers in 1993–94, where he played in every game but one in what proved to be his final season at national club level. He returned to Adamstown Rosebud for the remainder of the 1994 New South Wales Super League season, retiring from football upon its conclusion.

International career

His impressive club form with Adamstown Rosebud earned selection in Australia's inaugural youth team in 1978, where he played in the Oceania World Youth Cup qualifiers. In 1983, he made his debut for the senior national team, playing against England in a friendly at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...

. This began a long career with the Socceroos, where Jennings became a stalwart in successive World Cup campaigns, and an Olympian in 1988, in what proved to be the final open age football tournament in Seoul. In all, Jennings played 84 times for his country, 44 of which were full 'A' internationals.

Honours

With

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

: *

Trans-Tasman Cup The Trans-Tasman Cup was an association football competition played between Australia and New Zealand. Six editions were played between 1983 and 1995 after the OFC Nations Cup was discontinued. It was considered the most important Oceanian tourn ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

(runners-up) * President's Cup:

(runners-up) * Bicentennial Gold Cup:

(runners-up) *

Merlion Cup The Merlion Cup is an invitational association football, football tournament that was held in Singapore annually from 1982–1986, in 1992, 2009 and 2019 and 2023. Participants included full national sides, Olympic sides, Invitational XI's and ...

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

With

: * NSL Championship:

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

(runners-up) *

NSL Cup The National Soccer League Cup (known most commonly as the NSL Cup) was an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic Australian soccer organised by the Australian Soccer Federation between 1977 and 1997. History The NSL Cup was or ...

: 1983, 1985 With

: * NSL Championship:

(runners-up) *

: 1987 Personal honours: * FFA Hall of Fame Inductee - 1999

References

External links

OzFootball profile

Football Federation Australia Hall of Fame

Newcastle Cultural Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Graham 1960 births Living people Australian men's soccer players Australia men's under-20 international soccer players Australia men's international soccer players Olympic soccer players for Australia Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics National Soccer League (Australia) players APIA Leichhardt FC players Sydney Olympic FC players Sydney United 58 FC players Soccer players from Newcastle, New South Wales Men's association football defenders Newcastle Breakers FC players 20th-century Australian sportsmen