Dean Laidley Biography

Dani Laidley has been spared a conviction for stalking a woman, leaving flowers on her car and calling her 43 times in one day.

The 53-year-old, formerly known as Dean Laidley, loitered outside and took photos of the woman's Melbourne home and also attended her workplace over a week between April and May.

Laidley was spared a conviction in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to stalking.

She was instead placed on an adjourned undertaking requiring her to be of good behaviour for 18 months.

Dean Laidley is released on bail to a residential rehabilitation facility and says he is looking forward to the help he needs.

Laidley has been behind bars since May 2, when he was arrested over accusations he had been stalking a woman with whom he's in a financial dispute over a property.

Former teammates, coaches, and club doctors have lined up with letters of reference for the 53-year-old, who is battling longstanding mental health issues.

The AFL Players Association will fund Laidley's in-house care at the facility, which offers 24-hour supervision, drug testing, and treatment.

A Victorian police officer is expected to be charged for unauthorised access to police information after allegedly leaking of photos of former AFL player and coach Dean Laidley inside a police station.

Laidley was arrested on Saturday night outside a home in St Kilda and charged with stalking and other offences. Photos of the 53-year-old's mug shot, as well as a photo of him in a long blonde wig and wearing a dress were disseminated on social media.

The latter photo appears to be taken from inside the police station looking into the interview room where Laidley was being questioned. The photos subsequently appeared on the front page of the Herald Sun and The West Australian newspapers.

Carlton assistant coach Dean Laidley will leave the Blues as the club embarks on a restructure of its coaching and high-performance departments in the post-Mick Malthouse era.

"I have enjoyed the last two seasons at Carlton, especially working closely with the playing group," Laidley said.

"The club now has the foundations and planning in place and I know they will continue to build towards success in the coming years."

Dean Laidley leaves St Kilda's football department after two seasons as an assistant coach and will join Carlton as midfield coach.

"Dean has vast football experience as both a player and coach, and we believe he is the right man to take Carlton's midfield forward over the coming years," Blues football manager Andrew McKay said.

Dean Laidley says he is excited at the prospect of working with St Kilda's prime movers after being appointed the Saints' midfield coach.

"It's going to be a privilege to work with some of these guys," he said.

"I've watched them from afar for so many years. The reality is we want to find some more players to put through there, some young players and develop them. We've got a great academy set-up now, so it's really exciting."

Former North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley has joined St Kilda's football department as an assistant coach.

Port Adelaide's president has admonished assistant coach Dean Laidley for his public criticism of the Power's 'culture'.

"There's a lot of work to do from a mental perspective, and culturally. There is a cultural problem within the playing group. We know and understand that," Laidley said during an interview with SEN radio.

Duncanson, however, did not concur with Laidley's assessment.

"Dean's comments are Dean's comments. It's an emotive game and sometimes the coaches speak from the heart, and don't think sometimes before they roll out what they're thinking," Duncanson said.

"He reports to Matty not me. I know Matty has spoken to Dean about that and what he meant by that. I'll leave it for them to sort through."

Despite his intentions to return to Melbourne, Dean Laidley will look after the Power's midfield in 2011 as an assistant coach after failing to secure a position in Melbourne.

"Dean built a great relationship with both the players and coaching staff while he was here and we're very pleased that he's continuing on," new Power head coach Matthew Primus said.

"He brings great experience to our coaching group and he'll once again be fantastic for not only myself, but for our entire coaching staff."

Daniel Motlop had no hesitation in supporting Dean Laidley's move to Port Adelaide, despite the pair's acrimonious history when he left North Melbourne to join the Power.

"The club spoke to me and asked, 'what if we got Dean over here? Would it be awkward?' and I said 'no' . . . He's a great coach and a quality person," Motlop said.

"Dean was good to me at North Melbourne and I enjoyed my time with him. I've always said he's a good coach - probably the best I've had."

Former North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley will be in charge of strategy and innovation at the Power next season after taking up an assistant role at Port Adelaide.

In addition, Laidley will also be aiding Matthew Primus in coaching the midfield on match days.

Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams says he is pleased to have Dean Laidley join the Power's coaching panel.

"I was desperate to try and get Dean to come," Williams said.

"We have great assistant coaches but in the scheme of trying to improve we wanted to get Dean, who has not only been an outstanding senior coach but also an outstanding assistant coach.

"He will challenge us and the way we actually play. There's a whole lot of things that are in Dean's coaching that aren't in ours.

Power coach Mark Williams says Dean Laidley had been offered a strategy and innovation role at the club.

"Dean has done some great stuff, which he can offer to us and also challenge us in what we do and how we do it. Speaking to the other coaches, they're excited to think that Dean might come here," Williams said.

Dean Laidley emerges as a potential successor to Mark Williams at Port Adelaide, sought as effectively a match-day coach.

''I've spoken to Mark several times about it over the last few weeks, and I'm going over there to sit down with him and the others to see how it's all going to work,'' Laidley said.

Fremantle confirms a meeting with Dean Laidley but says no place for former Roos' coach at the Dockers.

''Dean is an experienced coach and we believed it was due process to have an informal discussion with him about football in general,'' Fremantle football manager Chris Bond said.

''At this stage there is no assistant coach position to discuss with Dean.''

Former North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley has been guaranteed a spot in Richmond's final round of interviews for the Tigers coaching position.

Dean Laidley will spend time at Port Adelaide, but Power coach Mark Williams doubts there will be a more formal appointment.

"I left a message on Thursday saying 'Listen mate, wait until you hear something before we work out what day it is', but it's this week some time," Williams said.

Dean Laidley is remembered fondly at North according to Kangaroo Josh Gibson.

"Dean was fantastic for us and it was very sad to see him go, but I thought the handling of it was really professional by him and the club," Gibson wrote in an article for AFL.com.au.

"It put North on a pedestal in terms of how we treat people, which is a massive part of this club's culture."

Eagles coach John Worsfold has welcomed the possibility of Dean Laidley joining his star-studded football department, suggesting a spot could be manufactured to accommodate him.

"You always look at personnel that could potentially make your place better," Worsfold said.

"If I said there was a vacant spot right there now, no, there's not. But that can be manufactured at times.

"I know Dean pretty well - I've played with him and obviously coached against him.

"He's a ripper bloke, he's hard as nails and he's committed. He's done a very good job with all the things he's done."

Darren Crocker's debut as North Melbourne coach could be boosted with captain Brent Harvey a chance to play for the first time since dislocating his elbow in round five.

The Kangaroos meet the Western Bulldogs at the MCG this Sunday in their first game since Dean Laidley resigned as coach. Crocker has since taken the reins in a caretaker role.

"He got the all-clear from the specialist ... so he's just got to get through tomorrow's training session," North Melbourne football manager Donald McDonald said.

West Coast could swoop on resigned North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley to fill a football role next season.

Recently departed North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley says Nathan Buckley would be a good appointment to lead the Kangaroos in the AFL in 2010.

Kangaroos skipper Brent Harvey feels some guilt about the Dean Laidley's departure as coach of North Melbourne after spending most of the season on the sidelines with injury.

"Unfortunately I only played four games as captain under Dean and that was probably my biggest disappointment," Harvey said.

"I spoke to him last night and I was saying it's probably my worst year in footy. Purely because I got appointed captain, I've been injured and the coach resigned halfway through the season.

"I just can't stop feeling a little bit responsible.

"Even though I couldn't do a great deal, you sit in the stands frustrated because you want to do things and you just can't do anything.

"It's been a very, very frustrating year but the one thing I love doing is playing footy and I'm hoping I'm back sooner rather than later."

Glenn Archer is expected to be asked to join a sub-committee tasked with finding the next coach of North Melbourne following Dean Laidley's departure.

The place is in better shape than when he started, but departing Kangaroos coach Dean Laidley says North Melbourne is a "fair way away" from being a force.

"I came here (in October 2002) and had a plan to win a premiership by 2007," Laidley said. "We fell seven days short of getting to a Grand Final (in 2007) and we did it under a fair bit of stress through those years.

"Basically, there was a lot of love and not a lot of money but we had a super time doing it.

"Since then, we have cleaned out a hell of a lot of players and the blueprint we have in place will hold the club in good stead going forward.

"The ultimate success is probably a fair way away I would have thought, and I thought that wouldn't be me.

"That was a fair bit of my thinking in how I came to the decision."

Former Collingwood captain Nathan Buckley is the standout at the top of North Melbourne's wish-list to takeover as coach after Dean Laidley took the club by surprise by quitting yesterday.

Club insiders have indicated they would go as hard as they possibly could to entice the Brownlow medallist to Arden Street.

Eugene Arocca has denied claims that there was a severe rift between him and former Kangaroos coach Dean Laidley.

"I thought at least I should try to clarify one thing, and that is there is no rift between me and Dean, and I was certainly invited to his place last night," Arocca said.

"Most people who know me know I'm usually in the office about seven o'clock in the morning, but I've struggled to work a bit this morning. I was at Dean's place until about quarter to one this morning."

Dean Laidley has stood down from his position as senior coach at North Melbourne.

Laidley informed the club of his decision to quit on Tuesday morning, bringing to an end his seven years at the helm.

North are currently undergoing a review of coaching, which was slated to conclude before round 16.

Former North Melbourne player and teammate of Dean Laidley, Wayne Schwass, says it was a good time for the Kangaroos coach to stand down.

"After seven years I think it is a good decision for both parties that perhaps he needed a new challenge. The club needs a new face and I think it is an interesting and challenging time for that football club to entice the best candidate," Schwass told SEN radio.

"If Dean Laidley is as good as a lot of people are saying then he shouldn't have too much to worry about because there will be opportunities. If he is as the top of the pecking order because he still has ability as a senior coach, he will get another job."

North Melbourne captain Brent Harvey says standing in front of his teammates to thank outgoing coach Dean Laidley for his contribution to the club was one of the hardest things he has ever had to do.

"I think he finished with, 'Go Roos' and that's when the boys would have thought, 'This is it. That's the last time you're going to hear that from the coach'," he said. "It's very sad."

"We've had a lot of injuries to a lot of key players, so that's been really tough.

"He's probably felt it's his time and I think he said he couldn't take this group any further."

Having watched Terry Wallace show how to not part with one's club, Dean Laidley knew he had to act once his commitment to North wavered.

North Melbourne chairman James Brayshaw has defended the timing of his club's review of Dean Laidley's coaching in the middle of the season.

"You're not just going to make it (the decision) by going around the table on the Thursday night, going 'What does everyone reckon?''' he said.

"You've got to have a very, very close look at (it) ... any club when their coach is up for renewal has a very close look at where they're at and whether they should continue or whether they should go a different way."

North Melbourne has formed a sub-committee to review whether Dean Laidley should be offered a new contract.

A switch to defence for Daniel Wells paid off in North Melbourne's win over Port Adelaide.

"I'd played there a couple of times before and enjoyed it and it worked out well again," Wells said about North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley's decision to move him into defence.

"He said he was thinking about playing me at half-back and just trying to use my skills and decision-making to give our forwards or midfielders some good chances."

Jack Ziebell is the latest young gun to earn a Rising Star nomination with an outstanding game against Port Adelaide.

"The kid's going to be a superstar and I'm not afraid to say that because his work ethic, the way he attacks the football, has been fantastic," North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley said.

"He is a leader in his own right at the football club already just by the way he goes about it."

Dean Laidley has thrown his support behind the push to induct Wayne Carey into the AFL Hall of Fame.

"He's been the best player at our football club but if that warrants him being selected this year or next year ... I think he deserves to be in there,” Laidley said.

North Melbourne coach expresses his desire to remain as coach of the club.

"I want to coach here next year," he said.

"I feel rejuvenated with the younger guys, the Urquharts, the Hansens, Ben Warren, Levi Greenwood, who will play his first game this week, Jack Ziebell, Scotty Thompson and the others.

"I've been at this footy club basically since 1993.

"I've played here, I've painted the hallways, cleaned the pigeon droppings out of the old grandstand; I've cut the grass on the ground, I've run a Care for Kids program, I've been a development coach, I've been a senior coach.

"This football club means the world to me."

North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley says his players are still feeling the effects of the 'chicken' video furore.

A meeting with his coach has convinced Josh Gibson to unburden himself of some of the issues he has been carrying into games recently.

Laidley told the media after Sunday's 54-point loss to Hawthorn that he had spent the first two days of last week with Gibson, who was in line to be dropped to the VFL after his poor start to the season.

"We just spoke about maybe some triggers to try to release some of that pressure during the week and play with a clearer mind," Gibson said.

"It was good. I just felt a little bit freer when I played."

North Melbourne will continue mixing up its structure after successfully experimenting with Leigh Harding and Michael Firrito in the midfield.

North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley has vowed to continue with Leigh Harding and Michael Firrito in the midfield at the risk of exposing his backline.