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 Au ...

association footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, 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 Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...

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 *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, 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 Adamstown Rosebud Football Club (founded July 12, 1889) is a semi-professional soccer club based in Adamstown, New South Wales, Adamstown a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, New South Wales. The club is part of Northern NSW Footba ...

, 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 association football, soccer club, based in Belmore, New South Wales, Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales, that plays in the National Premier Leagues NSW. The Club was founded as Pan- ...

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 d ...

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 (born 12 February 1943) is a former association football defender. At club level he won titles with St. George Budapest. With the Australian national team he participated in the 1974 World Cup in his native Germany. As coach ...

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, 3 km 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 t ...

) 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 APIA Leichhardt Football Club, also known simply as APIA (Associazione Poli-sportiva Italo Australiana), is a semi-professional soccer club based in the suburb of Leichhardt in Sydney, Australia. The club was formed in 1954 as APIA 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 Newcastle Breakers FC are a defunct Australian football (soccer) club. Formed out of elements of the Newcastle Austral club, they participated in the National Soccer League from season 1991/1992, until their dissolution in 1999/2000. The club fare ...

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 Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

. This began a long career with the

Socceroos The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated with ...

, 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 Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

: *

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 ente ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

(runners-up) *

President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

(runners-up) * Bicentennial Gold Cup:

(runners-up) *

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

1983 The year 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 Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

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 Southeast A ...

(runners-up) * NSL Cup: 1983, 1985 With

: * NSL Championship:

(runners-up) * NSL Cup: 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 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 Sportspeople from Newcastle, New South Wales Men's association football defenders Newcastle Breakers FC players Soccer players from New South Wales