Latest news with #Ingham
The Star
23-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Versatile Kiwi Ingham can add polish to more than just Sabah's defence
KUALA LUMPUR: Sabah's new Kiwi defender Dane Ingham intends to make his first venture into South-East Asian football a memorable one. The 26 year old, who is Australian-born but represents the New Zealand national team, sees the Malaysian Super League as a great opportunity to challenge himself and make a mark on new territory. ''Joining Sabah provides a new phase in my career and represents opportunities, and I'm quite excited to start this new season as this the first time I get to test my abilities in South-East Asia,'' said Ingham. Having previously played for A-League club Newcastle Jets, Ingham hopes that his presence in Sabah will help to strengthen the team's defence as he is aware that other clubs have dangerous strikers. ''The other clubs in the Super League are of top quality and I don't want to underestimate their abilities.'' Moreover, Ingham describes himself as a versatile player by being able to contribute to the forward line and assist in scoring for the team despite being a defender. ''Whatever it takes, I want to give my best to help the team without missing any games, and if necessary, I have no problem playing up front and assist in scoring. 'I'm a player who never gives up and I will try my best to give positive energy to my teammates,'' he added. Sabah's main aim this year is to create surprises, especially after they impressed last season by finishing third in the Super League with 40 points. The last time the Rhinos won the Super League was back in 1996.
ABC News
12-07-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Sugarcane fields reveal devastating long-term impact of north Queensland floods
In the early hours of February 3, it was hard to get back to sleep in Ingham. As floodwaters surged, the wind drove rain hard against the windows, keeping residents awake and uneasy through the night. Months later, the impact and devastation of that week are still felt across the community and wider farming regions. From counting crop losses and calculating the financial cost of restoring land, to managing their mental health, the difficult times for cane growers are only just beginning. The once-in-a-century flood left the area completely inundated and cut off from the outside world. Cane grower Ian Kemp has lived and worked on his Ingham farm, about halfway between Cairns and Townsville, for more than 60 years. While Ingham is no stranger to floods and residents generally know what to expect, he said this year was anything but ordinary. "I personally have about, I'd say 2,000 tonne I've lost. "It's going to take me about three to four years to recover ... to pick those paddocks up and get them back to full production again." At John Board's cane farm it was a similar story. Looking down the barrel of an expensive clean-up, his battle with debris, washout and damage to the cane is ongoing. "The actual damage to the crop itself, and then infrastructure damage as well, has been massive," he said. "There's no way I could cut cane on this headland here yet." The Queensland government is providing disaster recovery assistance to affected primary producers. While grateful for the assistance, Mr Board said the system had some challenges. "The way it works is, you've actually got to fork it out up front and then claim it back," he said. "This one headland alone here is probably $34,000 worth of just material and I don't have $34,000 in my bank account. "I've actually got to cut cane on a different part of the property to get some cash coming in to fix this headland." Across the district, the crop yield will be down substantially, which means less income for farmers and harvesters like Brian Mombelli. For him, that shortfall is worth $450,000. "It's cost us about $350,000 just to put machinery back on the paddock," he said. "We're already out of pocket and after such big floods, it's just another hit to the small business owners really." While the water is gone, he says danger still lurks in the paddocks, and harvesters will need to take extra care this year. "We could come across trees, rims, tyres, gas bottles, one tonne pods to pretty much everything, even shipping containers," he said. "The biggest cost that is going to affect us as business owners is trying to find the money to fix everything up." Mr Kemp said farmers were not the only people bearing a mental load. "People in town are struggling." About 100 kilometres north of Ingham is Tully, Australia's wettest town. Parts of the town also experienced flooding early this year and, while not as severe as in Ingham, successive disasters have taken their toll. Last year, Tully was smashed with rain from Tropical Cyclone Jasper and the community is feeling the compounding effects of back-to-back extreme wet seasons. Roy Butcher is manager of a Tully farm that lost about 30 hectares of cane to the flood, after 50 hectares were wiped out the year before. "Here, our major contributor factor … this year was from a levy bank collapsing up the river," he said. "It brought a wall of water through the farm. Mr Butcher said he was still finding trash in the cane fields from last season, which had mixed with mud from this year. At the sugar mill in town, the crush is underway. Tully Sugar sane productivity and development manager Greg Shannon said this season was better than the previous, but not by much. He expected farmers would produce three-to-four tonnes per hectare more than last year. "We got flooded, but not quite as bad and we've had a bit more sunlight, so it's an improvement on last year," he said. Ian Speziali, the electrical engineering manager at Tully Sugar, said water did come through the mill. "Being Tully, flooding isn't unusual but, like any site, we are impacted mainly by water inundation of pumps and motors," he said. "External to the factory itself, there's been damage to the rail infrastructure and those sorts of things, and obviously the farm properties in the district as well." Overall, he said spirits were high this year in Tully, as the 100th sugar crush for the mill is underway.
The Star
15-06-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Sabah go Down Under in bid to go up in Super League
PETALING JAYA: Sabah have set their sights on doing well in the new Super League season by tapping into the talent pool of the Australian League, and securing exciting names. They have hired New Zealand international Dane Ingham, a versatile player who is expected to add depth in the Rhinos' defensive flanks in the league starting in August. The 25-year-old joins from Newcastle Jets and brings with him the experience of international football, having earned 13 caps for the All Whites. Born and raised in Australia, Ingham represents world No. 86 New Zealand and was part of the squad that played Egypt and Tunisia in Cairo in March 2024. 'Born and raised in Australia, from Newcastle Jets and representing the New Zealand national team. Give it up for our new defender, who's ready to give his all for Sabah,' the club said in a statement. Ingham made 95 appearances for the Jets across four seasons, 87 in the A-League and eight in the Australia Cup. His 2023-2024 season, however, was disrupted by a torn pectoral muscle in December, ruling him out of club duties and New Zealand's FIFA World Cup Oceania qualifiers. But having passed his medical in Kota Kinabalu, Ingham is fully fit and ready for a fresh challenge in Malaysia. Joining Ingham from the A-League are Dean Pelekanos, who is a hard-working midfielder from Western Sydney Wanderers. The 24-year-old Pelekanos has made 14 A-League appearances for the Wanderers after stints with National Premier League sides St George City (2023) and Rockdale Ilinden (2024). He is expected to bring steel and structure to Sabah's engine room. Sabah have also snapped up Ajdin Mujagic, a 26-year-old Bosnian striker who arrives following a prolific campaign with Croatian second-division side Bijelo Brdo, where he netted 15 goals in 24 matches. The new local players are centreback Badrul Affendy and winger Maxsius Musa. The Rhinos however, have bid farewell to several key players, including South Korean duo Park Tae-su and Ko Kwang-min, Australian defender Haris Stamboulidis, Portuguese midfielder Telmo Castanheira, and Indonesian winger Saddil Ramdani, who has sealed a move to Indonesia Liga 1 champions Persib Bandung. Sabah finished third in the Super League last season under Slovakian head coach Martin Stano.
New Straits Times
15-06-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
New Zealand's Ingham, Australian Pelekanos among Sabah's four new signings
KUALA LUMPUR: Sabah have beefed up their squad ahead of the 2025-26 M-League season with four new signings, led by New Zealand international Dane Ingham and Australian midfielder Dean Pelekanos. The quartet were unveiled on Sunday, just a day after the club confirmed the departure of 13 players, including long-serving captain Park Tae Su and Indonesian winger Saddil Ramdani. Joining Ingham and Pelekanos are locals Badrul Affendy and Maxsius Musa. Ingham, 26, is a defender with 12 caps for New Zealand and was part of the All Whites squad for the 2022 World Cup intercontinental playoff. He last featured for A-League side Newcastle Jets, where he made 59 appearances and scored three goals over three seasons. Pelekanos, 24, is a Sydney-born central midfielder who came through the Western Sydney Wanderers system. Known for his stamina and aggressive style, he is expected to add steel and composure to Sabah's engine room. "Welcome to the Land Below the Wind, Dane! Born and raised in Australia. From Newcastle Jets and representing the New Zealand national team. Give it up for our new defender, ready to give his all for Sabah," read a club post. Another post added: "Welcome to the Land Below the Wind, Dean! Sydney-born. Formerly from Western Sydney Wanderers. Midfield engine for Sabah. Say hello to our newest Rhino!" Sabah finished third in the Super League last season and reached the Malaysia Cup semi-finals.
ABC News
14-06-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Flood-affected Ingham pleas for help as housing crisis worsens
Karen Thomas is packing up precious memories and the few belongings she has left as she prepares to leave her beloved community of Ingham. Ms Thomas hasn't been able to find any permanent housing since floods inundated her rental property in February. Community advocates say she's not alone. Residents in the flood-stricken Queensland town say they are being forced to leave due to a worsening housing crisis. Ms Thomas has not only lost her home in Ingham, she has lost her community. The floods came just after her daughter, Jody Davies, died from suicide in September. In the months after Jody's death, volunteering at the local community hub had given Ms Thomas meaning and purpose in her life. Then the floods hit. "All my baby photos, all my photos, I lost … I opened the box up and they were all destroyed, so I had to throw them out." Ms Thomas had no formal rental agreement for the flood-damaged property, and was not able to return to live there. She found temporary accommodation for a while, but that property has now been sold. Ms Thomas is moving to Townsville, more than 100 kilometres south, where she can stay with family. "I'm going to live with my grandchildren in a little room, until hopefully I can come back to Ingham," she said. The Hinchinbrook Community Support Centre's Quinta Lahtinen said Ms Thomas's circumstances were not said she had seen many people who were living in precarious housing situations as a result of the floods. When the flood hit Ingham, which has a population of about 4,500, it destroyed or badly damaged more than 200 houses. "Quite a number of our community are moving out of the district, because of the housing crisis," Ms Lahtinen said. "We're seeing a lot of people living in cars and vans. "We're seeing really significant overcrowding issues with families, and lots of couch surfing." Veteran real estate agent Felix Reitano said rental listings were few and far between "even before the floods", but the lack of available housing was worse now. "People [were] attracted to the town because of relatively low prices and its proximity to Townsville," he said. Mr Reitano said it was disheartening to have to turn good tenants away because there wasn't enough stock. "It's very embarrassing as a real estate agent when you can't place a good tenant in a house, where we would like to retain them as a tenant." He said businesses were slowly getting back on track, but skills shortages meant repair work was taking longer than it otherwise would. Hinchinbrook deputy mayor Mary Brown spearheaded recovery efforts after the floods. Ms Brown said the shire was continuing to advocate for an increase in housing supply. "That's not a quick process," she said. "The town looks lovely, a lot of the debris has been cleaned up, and things look like they're getting back to normal — and in a lot of ways they are. For Ms Thomas, a supply of more homes to ease the housing crisis can't come soon enough. "If the government put 100 dongas up on a piece of land, just for a year or so, people [would] get somewhere to live, and settle [while] the houses get fixed up, " she said. "If there's a place to rent, it's gone in five seconds. There's really nothing in this town.
