TIMBOON Demons footballer Darcy Cashmore likes his space, which is no surprise after learning he didn’t exactly like to share it when he was younger.
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“I used to live with my folks about five to 10 minutes out of Timboon,” he said.
“It was 110 acres but a fair bit of it was bush.
“We had a few beef cattle and they bred ostriches.”
It’s fair to say that when Cashmore was five, he and the ostriches did not get along very well.
“I used to run around, harassing them,” he said.
“I would sit on the other side of the fence and annoy them.”
While the birds proved entertaining for the youngster, it was not why they were on the property.
“We used to sell them for meat,” he said. “I did eat it a couple of times, it tasted pretty nice.
“It’s just like a red meat.”
His family stopped breeding ostriches more than a decade ago, around the same time Cashmore found another hobby — football.
The 21-year-old has always been a utility — a role he enjoys, which is evident through him finding it hard to pick a preferred position.
“I like the wing because there’s plenty of space out there but the midfield’s always good fun too,” he said.
“It’s good to play in different positions so you don’t get stuck in your ways.”
In today’s final home-and-away around, Cashmore is hoping to help Timboon Demons to victory against Panmure, a result which would see his side pinch fifth spot from the Bulldogs.
At the start of the season, he expected the Demons to make finals.
“I don’t think we’ve been as good as we could’ve been, we could’ve been a lot better,” he said.
“There’s just been a few games where it’s been touch and go.
“We’ve had a few bad quarters, then we’ll come good at the end but we can’t quite get over the line.”
The electrician, who played for Timboon before the merger with Heytesbury, was hoping for a consistent effort against the Bulldogs today.
“They’re going to be tough on their ground,” he said. “They’ve got some big blokes running around.
“We’re a pretty young team and pretty quick.
“It should be close but hopefully we have a win.”
If the Demons’ season was to finish today, it would be unusual for Cashmore, who has regularly played post-season.
“The whole time I’ve been playing footy, I’ve only missed one or two grand finals,” he said, which included last year.
“I was pretty disappointed we didn’t make it but I suppose you get to see it then from the sidelines.
“I’d rather be playing in them instead but I’ve been pretty lucky. There’s a fair few blokes who have never played in one.”
The 2008 Demons premiership player highlighted how tight-knit this year’s side was.
“Pretty well just about everyone went to school together,” he said.
“It makes you a hell of a lot closer.”
