Northern NSW Football announced in 2018 the NPL Men’s NNSW Player of the Year would be awarded the Graham Jennings Medal. Jennings was born and bred in Newcastle and known as ‘Flash’ due to his blinding speed. He started his senior career as a 16-year-old at Adamstown Rosebud in 1976 before a move to the National Soccer League with Sydney Olympic in 1979. Jennings enjoyed a 20-year playing career where he made an incredible 350 NSL appearances which included stints at Sydney Croatia, APIA Leichhardt and 25 games with the Newcastle Breakers.
Jennings made his Socceroos debut under Frank Arok against England in 1983. He played 84 times for his country including 44 full ‘A’ internationals. Jennings lined up against some of the best players of his era in matches against Manchester United and the England and Brazil national teams during a Socceroos career which took him to consecutive FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns and the 1988 Olympic Games. His career earned him a place in the Australian Football Hall of Fame, Hunter Hall of Fame and Australian Football Team of the Decade for the 1980s.
