Dean Laidley

Early life

Laidley grew up in Balga, Western Australia, a working-class northern suburb of Perth.

Lightly built, Laidley first played senior football at the West Perth Football Club and was recruited to be part of the West Coast Eagles' inaugural VFL squad in 1987.

West Coast career (1987–1992)

Laidley made his VFL debut for the West Coast Eagles in Round 1, 1987 against Richmond at Subiaco Oval. As an aggressive half-back line player and known as "The Junkyard Dog", Laidley was known for his commitment to the contest and to winning the ball. His career had a major setback during the 1990 season when he required a knee reconstruction and found it hard to break into the team, missing West Coast's 1992 premiership win.

North Melbourne playing career (1993–1997)

At the end of 1992 he was traded to North Melbourne. A trademark of his play was the execution of the strategy of either kicking out or receiving uncontested a short kick-out to the back pocket, a strategy which was later widely adopted by other clubs.

Early career (1998–2002)

Following his AFL career, Laidley took up coaching, beginning with the Weston Creek team in the AFL Canberra competition.

His first AFL coaching role was with Collingwood as an assistant coach under Mick Malthouse, where he was involved in the club's 2002 AFL Grand Final loss.

North Melbourne coaching career (2003–2009)

After the resignation of Denis Pagan as coach, Laidley was recruited as the new senior coach of the Kangaroos for the 2003 season. In his first two years in charge, the team finished 10th. He took the Kangaroos to the finals for his first time as coach in the 2005 season but they were eliminated by Port Adelaide in an elimination final. In the 2006 season they fell backwards and finished 14th.

Laidley's ferocity as a player transferred into his coaching style, his team was said to embody the "Shinboner Spirit" of determination and never giving up. He was also seen on occasion to be aggressive with his players.

Laidley took North Melbourne to the finals for his second time in 2007 and at the end of 2007. His contract was due for renewal at the end of the season and the Melbourne Football Club made advances to secure him as coach, however Laidley's contract with North Melbourne was renewed for two years. He took North Melbourne to the finals again in 2008.

After a post season review in 2009 and following a string of losses, Laidley resigned as coach of North Melbourne on 16 June 2009, one round before his 150th game as coach.

Port Adelaide career (2010–2011)

In September 2009, Laidley joined the coaching group at the Port Adelaide Football Club.

After one season as an assistant to Mark Williams and later Matthew Primus, Laidley announced that he would return to Melbourne in 2011 for family reasons but said that he could work as an opposition scout and analysis based in Melbourne for the Power. However, on 27 October 2010, the Port Adelaide Football Club announced that he would continue on as an assistant coach based four days in Adelaide and three days in Melbourne a week in the 2011 season. He interviewed for the Essendon Football Club senior coach position when it was left vacant by the sacking of Matthew Knights but was unsuccessful.

St Kilda career (2011–2013)

In early November 2011, Laidley was announced as the new midfield coach of the St Kilda Football Club. Of the move, St Kilda's head of football, Chris Pelchen, said of Laidley: "Dean has a wealth of knowledge as a former player and coach in his own right. His experience will genuinely assist the development of the whole player list at the Saints."

Carlton career (2013-present)

Laidley signed with Carlton as midfield assistant coach on October 31, 2013.

Controversies

During a 2006 match against St Kilda, a Kangaroos supporter had a confrontation with Laidley during a period of consistently poor performances. The supporter twice made remarks to which Laidley responded with an honest summation "we are all hurting", later inviting the supporter to the club rooms to see how badly the players were feeling due to their onfield performance. The footage was captured on television and broadcast nationally. In an unrelated tragedy the supporter committed suicide later that night in the path of an oncoming train due to a gambling-related depressive illness. The man's family confirmed that the death was unrelated to the incident with Laidley.

In 2007, former Kangaroos' star Wayne Carey criticised Laidley and argued that another former teammate, John Longmire, should replace him as coach. Laidley's contract was due for renewal at the end of 2007. After a forthright response by Laidley that referenced Carey's personal scandals, Carey responded by describing him as arrogant. On 16 June 2009, Laidley stepped down as coach explaining that he felt he could not take the group any further.