| Danielle Laidley | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Born | (1967-03-27)27 March 1967 (age 58) | ||
| Original team | West Perth (WAFL) | ||
| Debut | Round 1, 29 March 1987,West Coast vs.Richmond, atSubiaco Oval | ||
| Position | Half-back | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1984–1992 | West Perth | 70 (22) | |
| 1987–1992 | West Coast | 52 (11) | |
| 1993–1997 | North Melbourne | 99(4) | |
| Total | 221 (37) | ||
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 1988, 1996 |  Western Australia | 2 (0) | |
| Coaching career3 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
| 2003–2009 | North Melbourne | 149 (72–75–2) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1997. 2 Representative statistics correct as of 1996. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 2010. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Danielle May Laidley (bornDean James Laidley; 27 March 1967) is a formerAustralian rules football coach and player, who played for theWest Coast Eagles andNorth Melbourne in theAustralian Football League (AFL) from 1987 to 1997, including in North Melbourne's1996 premiership team, and wascoach of North Melbourne from 2003 to 2009.
In May 2020, Laidley wasouted astransgender after a police officer leaked photographs of her in police custody.
Laidley was born on 27 March 1967 as Dean Laidley[1] and grew up inBalga, Western Australia, a working-class northern suburb ofPerth.[2]
Lightly built, Laidley first played senior football at theWest Perth Football Club in theWest Australian Football League, and was recruited to be part of the West Coast Eagles' inauguralVFL squad in 1987.
Laidley made her VFL debut for theWest Coast Eagles in Round 1, 1987, againstRichmond atSubiaco Oval. As an aggressivehalf-back line player and known as "The Junkyard Dog", Laidley was known for her commitment to the contest and to winning the ball. Her career suffered a major setback during the 1990 season when she required aknee reconstruction and found it hard to break back into the team, missing West Coast's 1992 premiership win.[3]
Laidley played a total of 52 games and kicked 11 goals for West Coast Eagles from 1987 until 1992.[3]
At the end of 1992, Laidley was traded toNorth Melbourne. A trademark of her play was the execution of the strategy of either kicking out or receiving uncontested a short kick-out to theback pocket, a strategy which was later widely adopted by other clubs.[3] Laidley was also part of the North Melbourne premiership side in1996.[3]
Laidley played a total of 99 games and kicked 4 goals for North Melbourne from 1993 until 1997.[3]
After retiring from the AFL, Laidley took up coaching, beginning with the Weston Creek team in theAFL Canberra competition.
Her first AFL coaching role was withCollingwood as an assistant coach underMick Malthouse, where she was involved in the club's2002 AFL Grand Final loss.
After the resignation ofDenis Pagan as senior coach, Laidley was recruited as the senior coach of theKangaroos for the 2003 season.[4] In her first two years, the team finished 10th. She coached the Kangaroos to the finals for her first time as coach in the 2005 season, but the club was defeated by Port Adelaide in an elimination final. In the 2006 season they regressed and finished 14th. Laidley's ferocity as a player transferred into her coaching style, with her team said to embody the "Shinboner Spirit" of determination and never giving up. She was also seen on occasion to be aggressive towards her playing group.[2]
During a 2006 match againstSt Kilda, a Kangaroos supporter had a confrontation with Laidley, with the team putting up 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. The supporter died by suicide later that night, unrelated to the incident with Laidley.[5]
Laidley took the Kangaroos to the finals for the second time in 2007. At the end of the year, her contract was due for renewal. Former Kangaroos starWayne Carey criticised Laidley and argued that another former teammate,John Longmire, should replace her.[6] After a forthright response by Laidley that referenced Carey's personal scandals,[7] Carey responded by describing her as arrogant and also called her aloof, saying she generally did not acknowledge her old teammates.[8] DespiteMelbourne Football Club making advances to secure her as coach,[9] Laidley's contract with the Kangaroos – now going by their former name, North Melbourne – was renewed for two years. She took North Melbourne to the finals again in 2008.
After a mid-season review in 2009 and following a string of losses, Laidley resigned as senior coach of North Melbourne on 16 June 2009, one round before what would have been her 150th game as coach. Laidley was replaced by assistant coachDarren Crocker as caretaker senior coach of North Melbourne for the rest of the 2009 season.[10][11]
In September 2009, Laidley joined the coaching group at thePort Adelaide Football Club.
After one season as an assistant toMark Williams and laterMatthew Primus, Laidley announced that she would return to Melbourne in 2011 for family reasons, but said she was available to work as an opposition scout and analysis based in Melbourne for Port Adelaide. However, on 27 October 2010, Port Adelaide announced that she would continue on as an assistant coach based four days in Adelaide and three days in Melbourne a week in the 2011 season. She interviewed for theEssendon Football Club senior coach position when it was left vacant by the sacking ofMatthew Knights but was unsuccessful.
In early November 2011, Laidley was announced as the new midfield coach of theSt Kilda Football Club.[12] Of the move, St Kilda's head of football, Chris Pelchen, said that Laidley "has a wealth of knowledge as a former player and coach in [her] own right. [Her] experience will genuinely assist the development of the whole player list at the Saints."[12]
Laidley signed with Carlton as midfield assistant coach on 31 October 2013. With the appointment ofBrendon Bolton in 2015, Laidley left Carlton.
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 1987 | West Coast | 15 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 119 | 24 | 143 | 37 | 6 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 11.9 | 2.4 | 14.3 | 3.7 | 0.6 | 0 |
| 1988 | West Coast | 15 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 139 | 29 | 168 | 44 | 11 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 12.6 | 2.6 | 15.3 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 1989 | West Coast | 15 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 116 | 60 | 176 | 40 | 15 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 11.6 | 6.0 | 17.6 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 0 |
| 1990 | West Coast | 15 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 93 | 45 | 138 | 23 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 13.3 | 6.4 | 19.7 | 3.3 | 0.1 | 5 |
| 1991 | West Coast | 15 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1992 | West Coast | 15 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 158 | 90 | 248 | 30 | 13 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 11.3 | 6.4 | 17.7 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 2 |
| 1993 | North Melbourne | 7 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 209 | 60 | 269 | 35 | 23 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 12.3 | 3.5 | 15.8 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 6 |
| 1994 | North Melbourne | 7 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 302 | 137 | 439 | 77 | 16 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 12.6 | 5.7 | 18.3 | 3.2 | 0.7 | 4 |
| 1995 | North Melbourne | 7 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 272 | 131 | 403 | 82 | 24 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 11.8 | 5.7 | 17.5 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 3 |
| 1996† | North Melbourne | 7 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 240 | 130 | 370 | 64 | 29 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 5.4 | 15.4 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0 |
| 1997 | North Melbourne | 7 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 78 | 32 | 110 | 24 | 10 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 7.1 | 2.9 | 10.0 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0 |
| Career | 151 | 15 | 22 | 1726 | 738 | 2464 | 456 | 148 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 11.4 | 4.9 | 16.3 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 20 | ||
| Legend | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Wins | L | Losses | D | Draws | W% | Winning percentage | LP | Ladder position | LT | League teams | ||
| Season | Team | Games | W | L | D | W % | LP | LT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Kangaroos | 22 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 52.3% | 10 | 16 |
| 2004 | Kangaroos | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 45.5% | 10 | 16 |
| 2005 | Kangaroos | 23 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 56.5% | 5 | 16 |
| 2006 | Kangaroos | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 31.8% | 14 | 16 |
| 2007 | Kangaroos | 25 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 60.0% | 4 | 16 |
| 2008 | North Melbourne | 23 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 54.3% | 7 | 16 |
| 2009[a] | North Melbourne | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 33.3% | 13 | 16 |
| Career totals | 149 | 72 | 75 | 2 | 49.0% | |||
Laidley underwent agender transition from 2019, and changed her name to Danielle May Laidley. After an unauthorised outing by a police officer in May 2020, she was obliged to reveal this to the public.[15][16][17][18] The outing occurred after Laidley was arrested and charged with one count ofstalking. She did not apply forbail.[19] She was allegedly found with 0.43 grams ofmethamphetamine in her bra at the time of her arrest.[20] AVictoria Police officer distributed photos of Laidley in women's clothing taken while she was in custody. In December, the officer was charged with unauthorised access and disclosure of police information as well as misconduct in public office. Three other officers were accused of the same breach. In November 2020, Laidley was placed into adiversion program and given an "adjourned undertaking with no conviction recorded" on the stalking charge.[21][22]
Laidley was previously married to Joanna, with whom she has three children. She has since (as of September 2023[update]) reconciled with Donna Leckie, whom she had dated on-and-off prior to her marriage.[23] In 2021 Laidley became involved with theNorth Melbourne Football Club again, tossing the coin at the 2022AFLW Pride Round game against theGWS Giants,[24] and attending other club events with North Melbourne players and management.[25] Her memoir,Don't Look Away, co-written with Konrad Marshall, was released in August 2022.[26]Danielle Laidley: Two Tribes, a documentary about her life, premiered onStan in September 2023.[27]
After this forced outing, her lawyer Rob Stary told the media Laidley had been undergoing a gender transition since 2019, and wanted to be referred to as Danielle May Laidley, with the pronouns she and her. From this point, Laidley committed herself to using her experiences to advocate for the mental issues community.
