Danielle May Laidley (born Dean James Laidley; 27 March 1967) is a former Australian rules football coach and player, who played for the West Coast Eagles and North Melbourne in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 1987 to 1997, including in North Melbourne's 1996 premiership team. She was the coach of North Melbourne from 2003 to 2009. Born male, Laidley played and coached in men's AFL. In November 2020, her lawyer announced that she had transitioned to female and wished to be referred to as Dani. 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 in the West Australian Football League and she was recruited to be part of the West Coast Eagles' inaugural VFL squad in 1987. VFL/AFL playing career West Coast Eagles (1987–1992) Laidley made her 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 her commitment to the contest and to winning the ball. Her career suffered a major setback during the 1990 season when she required a knee reconstruction and found it hard to break back into the team, missing West Coast's 1992 premiership win. Laidley played a total of 52 games and kicked 11 goals for West Coast Eagles from 1987 until 1992. North Melbourne (1993–1997) At the end of 1992, Laidley was traded to North Melbourne. A trademark of her 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. Laidley was also part of the North Melbourne premiership side in 1996. Laidley played a total of 99 games and kicked 4 goals for North Melbourne Football Club from 1993 until 1997. Coaching career Early career (1998–2002) After retiring from the AFL, Laidley took up coaching, beginning with the Weston Creek team in the AFL Canberra competition. Her first AFL coaching role was with Collingwood as an assistant coach under Mick Malthouse, where she was involved in the club's 2002 AFL Grand Final loss. North Melbourne senior coach (2003–2009) After the resignation of Denis Pagan as senior coach, Laidley was recruited as the senior coach of the Kangaroos for the 2003