After Hattie Raine and Chloe Bright, Nicole Graham becomes only the third woman to make 100 competitive appearances for the Quaker Women and join the 100 club under current manager Shaun Mackenzie.

Nicole signed for the Quaker Women in the August of 2022 at just 16 years old. Nicole has been playing for the club since she was 12 and was part of the first ever Darlington F.C Girls team playing for Darlington F.C Youth. 

Alongside Evie Whitaker, Nicole is one of the longest serving Darlington players, having played for the Darlington badge for 8 consecutive seasons in youth and senior football. 

Nicole made her competitive debut on Sunday 4th September 2022 in a 3-0 win over local rivals Darlington Spraire Ladies at Blackwell Meadows. Nicole marked her debut with a goal and followed that up a few weeks later with 4 goals in the Women’s FA Cup to knock out Ripon City A.F.C in a 6-1 win. 

Nicole has since gone on to score 26 goals for the Quaker Women and register 17 assists. Putting her 6th in the all time goalscorers list. Following on from her debut season, Nicole went on to win the Darlington F.C Women Young Player of the Season for the 23/24 season.

She followed that up a year later, winning the 24/25 Goal of the Season award, with a great strike against Stockton Town Ladies. Last season, Nicole was awarded Managers Player of the Season for the 25/26 season which ultimately ended in the team’s promotion to the NERWFL.

Last Sunday’s game against Washington was Nicole’s 100th competitive appearance. To achieve this at just 20 years old, shows the hard work and consistency that Nicole has shown over the last 4 seasons and she fully deserves the recognition.

Women’s first team manager Shaun had the following to say on Nicole making her 100th appearance. “Nicole really is a manager’s dream, you know exactly what you’re going to get from her, week in and week out. She always gives 100% and leaves everything on the pitch. If you had to choose one player to play in every position it would probably be Nicole. She really is an all round complete player and can play in every position. Coming in initially as a forward, we have moulded her into a central midfielder, however she has filled in at full back, wing back, centre back and even put on the gloves in pre season with no goalkeepers available. She never once moans and just gets on with it.

“She is a great character to have around the dressing room and is always cheery and positive. It’s been a privilege to see her grow up and progress through the youth ranks before claiming her place in the women’s starting team and keeping it most weekends. Nicole is also a fantastic role model for the younger generation and also helps coach our youth teams as well as her work with Darlington F.C Foundation. We are lucky to have Nicole and I look forward to continuing to work with her for hopefully years to come.”