"I wouldn’t let my daughter go along when I was in jail" - Corey Cadby relieves daunting time spent in prison following crime spree

From one of darts brightest talents to prison. It has been quite the ride for Corey Cadby who has seen his darting career flushed away thanks to some regrettable life choices that he has been forced to pay the price for.

Now back in Australia playing darts again but at a much lower level than on the PDC Tour, the quality is still there as he hopes for a return to the sport one day in the future. It could have been so different if he did not commit the crimes he did, but now out of prison and with a family to care for, he is focused on not falling back into that downward spiral once more.

Cadby has been in trouble with the law on numerous occasions. He first spent eight months behind bars for breaking into a Hungry Jacks diner as he tried to rob the place while intoxicated on drugs. He would follow that up by breaking into his aunt's house and assaulting her partner before taking the blame and not letting out the names of any of his companions.

That act saw him get a sentence of 28 months. Speaking to Bang On Target, he would relieve his time spent in prison. “Well, after the Hungry Jack’s incident, I was banged up in Tasmania where I’m from," he explained. "The second time around, after the thing with my Aunt’s fella, I was in Port Phillip Prison in Victoria. It’s one of the hardest jails – third hardest in Australia – maximum security facility. They put you there first.”

He has travelled around the country going from prison to prison. However, the experience was not the most harrowing one. “In total, I’ve spent time in five different jails. But it wasn’t that bad. It made me into a man. The only thing I missed when inside was my family. Need that in your life.”

Now a father with another child coming, Cadby has had to set his priorities straight. He now puts his family first with that the big thing missing from his time in jail.

He did have chances to see them, but it was tricky based on where he was. “I wouldn’t let my daughter go along when I was in jail in Tasmania," he admitted. "Then, second time around, when I was in Victoria, my Dad lives in Melbourne, which is in the same state, so he came. My Mum did once but she’s in Western Australia, so that was a four-hour flight and a few more travelling for her. To be honest, I didn’t want them coming and seeing me inside.”

He had a lot of company in there. “I made plenty of mates. A few of the screws [prison wardens] knew me but I didn’t like to talk about it.” However, he never regretted the decisions made that made him do time. “I don’t regret what I did. If anyone f****d with my family, I’d do the same again.”

Cadby had once been such a huge talent. Bursting on the scene on the World Series of Darts, he lost in the ifnal of the Auckland Darts Masters against fellow Aussie Kyle Anderson. He would pick up other notable results in his time on the PDC Tour including a run to the final of the 2018 UK Open while also reaching the final of a floor tournament.

His darting career was put to one side as he opted against getting his Tour Card. Back in Australia, the darting bug is still there and still has the quality despite not playing in a long time. “Yeah, so that tournament was only a few weeks after I got out," he said. "Before that, I hadn’t picked up a dart in almost three years.”

Darts was not one of his past-times in jail. “Don’t be a muppet. Of course not. Just cards. I was trying to organise something but wasn’t allowed. Dangerous items and all that. Although I did used to throw a few apple cores in the bin – didn’t miss much.”

Going back to the tournament, his expectations were low but he would be pleasantly surprised. “Just a few weeks I reckon. It was doubles with my brother Ashley. I didn’t expect us to win, just go along, throw some arrows and have fun. But I played okay. Averaged in the nineties and threw quite a few 180s, including about five in the final.”

The World Matchplay is soon upon us, a tournament Cadby never got the chance of playing in. Set at the iconic Winter Gardens, all attention will be turned to the best players in the world who will battle it out for the second biggest title in the sport.

Without hesitation, 'King' immediately stated who he thought would be lifting the Phil Taylor trophy at the end. “I reckon Gary [Anderson] will win it.”

He gave his reasoning for picking the two-time world champion. “Honestly though, reckon when it comes to tournaments like that, Gary shines. Knows when to pull it all together. I know he says he doesn’t practice, and he’s not lying. But for a tournament like this, he will probably spend an hour or two each day on the board. He’s due a big TV win. And when he’s on, he’s on.”

It is a very open field with a lot of talent set to take to the stage. The big favourites are obviously Luke Littler and Luke Humphries who are a class above the rest. Still, the 31-year-old has overlooked all of them in favour of Anderson. “Everyone there has potential. I’d give over half the field a genuine chance of winning. I was out with mates last Wednesday and told them I fancy Gary to win it.”

He outlined his semi-final lineup. “I am going to say Littler, Gary, either Cross or Humphries and Nijman. Then I’m going for an Anderson versus Luke Humphries final.”

When competing back in Europe, Cadby had a number of players that he was regularly talking to. “Obviously Kyle [Anderson]," he listed. "Then I really got on well with Nathan [Aspinall] too. Me and MVG used to take the piss out of one another and have the banter. Dobey is a good lad – I love that bloke. Then Rob Cross was always someone good to have a chat with.”

There were other close companions who gave some solid advice on the oche. “Yeah. For teaching me things, it was Jelle Klaasen who told me if I’m on 271, to go for the 19s. It was obvious once he said it!”

He is determined to get back playing darts again, possibly opting for the ADA Circuit to stay in his home region while promising that he will not fall afoul of the law again. “Don’t worry, I won’t. I wouldn’t mind travelling around Australia on the ADA circuit next year. Teach them all a lesson and smack their bums. They just see me as a bad boy.”

To do this, he would need help. “I’m hoping to get sponsorship. Can’t do it on my own without backing and ideally get an Aussie manager to look after me.”

With the World Series coming back Down Under in August, Cadby is not on the list to feature. However, a possible return has not been ruled out by Chief Executive of the PDC Matthew Porter. “Currently the DRA doesn’t have any outstanding sanctions against Corey, so assuming that doesn’t change, we would not stop him competing,” he wrote in an email.

This would be something that Cadby would love to participate in again as he looks for redemption from that final defeat. “Ah, Kyle [Anderson] shouldn’t have beaten me. I was something like 9-6 up but missed too many doubles and he nicked it! But I’d absolutely love another crack at the World Series again.”