DEAN Bailey

(January 18, 1967 – March 11, 2014)

Bailey grows up in North Ringwood in Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs. He plays junior football for Park Orchards at Domeney Reserve and later moves to North Ringwood, where he plays senior football. Bailey is recruited by former Essendon and Collingwood recruiting manager Noel Judkins – then at the Bombers. As a junior, Bailey also represents the Victorian Schoolboys with the Herald Shield team under the tutelage of Hawthorn great Don Scott. Bailey then makes his VFL/AFL debut in 1986 …


Related: Vale Dean Bailey


1986 – Bailey plays his first game for Essendon against Geelong at Kardinia Park (now Simonds Stadium) in round 13. He wears No.42 and becomes the 921^st player to represent Essendon in a VFL/AFL match. Bailey boots two goals, including one with his first kick in League football. He plays three matches in his debut season under coaching great Kevin Sheedy.

1987 – Now wearing No.31, he plays 15 of the opening 16 rounds, missing round 14 against the Bulldogs.

1988 – Features in eight games for the season, including seven in a row from rounds 12 to 18. His three goals against the Brisbane Bears at Carrara (now Metricon Stadium) in round 17 is his best haul in a VFL/AFL match.

1989 – Produces his best VFL/AFL season, making 17 appearances, including all three finals. He wins 22 disposals and kicks a goal in Essendon’s 76-point qualifying final win against Geelong at the MCG. It’s his best performance in a VFL/AFL final.

1990 – He misses the entire season and doesn’t play a match for the Bombers.

1991 – Adds six matches to his tally, including a career-best 29 disposals against West Coast Eagles at Windy Hill in round eight.

1992 – Bailey notches up his 50^th VFL/AFL match in his first match for the season – against Hawthorn at Waverley Park in round five. Although his milestone coincides with a victory, it ends on a sour note, when he is concussed in the final two seconds of the match, after a collision with Hawthorn star Dermott Brereton. He spends six hours in a semi-conscious state. He moves to another hospital later that night and stabilises the following day. Bailey returns against North Melbourne at Princes Park in round eight, but does not play again until rounds 19 and 20. His match against Hawthorn at the MCG in round 20 ends up being his final game. Bailey finishes his VFL/AFL career with 53 matches to his name, having played his entire career under Essendon coaching great Kevin Sheedy. He is regarded as a hard-working centreman/utility.

1993 – Bailey makes his debut for Glenelg in the SANFL under Mark ‘Choco’ Williams, also in his first year as coach of the club.

1994 – Spends his second season with Glenelg, Williams’ final season as coach.

1995 – He wins Glenelg’s best and fairest award.

1996 – Bailey plays his last season with Glenelg, finishing with 61 matches and 18 goals.

1997 – Appointed coach of Mt Gravatt in Queensland at the end of the 1997 season.

1998 – In his first season as coach, he guides Mt Gravatt to fourth place.

1999 – Coaches Mt Gravatt to third position in his second and final year. Bailey then returns to the AFL at the end of the season to become a development coach under Sheedy at Essendon.

2000 – In his first year back with the Dons, Bailey tastes the ultimate success as a member of Essendon’s coaching staff. The Bombers win the Grand Final by 60 points, easily accounting for Melbourne – the team he would later coach.

2001 – In his second year back with the Dons, they again make the Grand Final, except this time they lose to the Brisbane Lions by 26 points.

2002 – Bailey reunites with Williams, this time at Port Adelaide, where he becomes an assistant coach. The Power finishes third after losing by 56 points to the Brisbane Lions in the second preliminary final.

2003 – He is again involved in finals, as Port Adelaide plays off in the second preliminary final. Again, the Power goes down, this time by 44 points to Collingwood. Port Adelaide claims fourth spot.

2004 – Bailey is involved in his second AFL premiership, as an assistant coach to Williams, as Port Adelaide wins its first AFL flag. The Power defeats the Brisbane Lions by 40 points, ending any chance of four in a row by the Lions.

2005 – The Power slide to fifth on the ladder, after being bundled out of the finals by North Melbourne by 83 points in the first semi-final.

2006 – Port Adelaide misses the finals for the first time since 2000, when it comes 12^th.

2007 – Clearly Williams’ right-hand man, Bailey is put on standby to coach Port Adelaide during the home and away season, when the senior coach is ill. But Williams ends up taking his place. The Power make its second AFL Grand Final, but Bailey doesn’t end the season in the coaches’ box with the club, after he is appointed senior coach of Melbourne. Bailey starts as a bolter – he answers the job advertisement to become Melbourne’s coach – and ends up being among the five main contenders, along with Chris Connolly, Damien Hardwick, Mark Riley and Sheedy. Bailey is announced as Melbourne coach for the next three seasons on August 31, although the news breaks via Williams at training. He says: “I’m not sure if I’m here to announce that Dean is the new Melbourne coach, but he is. It’s a great appointment by them and he’s very worthy of the job. We’re very happy for him, but obviously that means he doesn’t coach with us anymore.”

2008 – Bailey makes his AFL coaching debut against Hawthorn in round one. It proves to be a nightmare first match, as Melbourne losses by 104 points. The following week against the Bulldogs proves to be another shocker, with the Demons losing by 95 points. The Dees play the reigning premiers Geelong in round three at the Cattery, but show some fight, kicking the first three goals of the match, before falling five goals short – a far better showing than their first two rounds. Overall, the Dees lose their first six rounds by 60.33 points and don’t open their account under Bailey until round seven against Fremantle at the MCG. His first win as Melbourne is a remarkable victory, as his side comes back from a 51-point deficit at three quarter-time to win by six points. It proves – and remains – Melbourne’s greatest ever comeback and the 12^th biggest in VFL/AFL history. But with just two more wins against the Brisbane Lions (round 14) and West Coast Eagles (round 20), Bailey finishes with three victories in his first season and the wooden spoon.

2009 – The Demons again claim the wooden spoon, netting just four wins against Richmond, West Coast Eagles, Port Adelaide and Fremantle respectively – all at the MCG. Yet it is a four-point loss to Richmond at the MCG in round 18 – due to a Jordan McMahon goal after the siren – that generates much debate, and controversy, in the coming seasons.

2010 – Bailey produces his best season as coach, as the red and blue starts to show genuine progress. Melbourne opens its season with a 56-point loss to Hawthorn at the MCG, but bounces back to win three in a row from rounds three to five against Adelaide, Richmond and Brisbane Lions at the MCG. The win against Lions was an impressive victory, given they had won their opening four matches of the season. From rounds six to 14, Melbourne wins just one match – defeating Port Adelaide by the narrowest of margins at TIO Stadium in Darwin. A draw also happens during this period, against eventual premier Collingwood on its annual Queen’s Birthday clash at the MCG. From rounds 15 to 19, the Demons win four of their five matches, including a 73-point win over the Sydney Swans at the MCG. It proves to be Bailey’s best win as coach up until that point – and now Melbourne coach Paul Roos’ heaviest – when in charge of the Swans. Melbourne loess its final three rounds of the season. But the Demons climb up the ladder to 12^th place – still its best effort since its most recent finals campaign in 2006. The Demons have two All-Australians – James Frawley and Mark Jamar – and eventual best and fairest winner Brad Green is an unlucky exclusion, after being named in the squad.

2011 – Melbourne starts its season with a draw against the Sydney Swans at the MCG, before claiming three wins and two losses by round six. Its 96-point win in round seven over the Adelaide Crows – guided by future Melbourne coach Neil Craig – is Bailey’s greatest win as coach. After three defeats from rounds eight to 10, the Demons win four of their next six matches, including a classy win over Essendon in round 11. By round 17, Melbourne sits ninth on the ladder and remains in finals contention, but its topsy-turvy season takes a massive dive when it plays the Cats at Geelong in round 19. It proves to be a disastrous day for the club – and for Bailey. Melbourne loses by 186 points – the second greatest losing margin in VFL/AFL history. The final score was Geelong 37.11 (233) d Melbourne 7.5 (47). The following day, on Sunday July 31, Bailey is sacked by the club, following a board meeting. He finishes with just 22 wins from 83 matches and a winning percentage of 27.71. It was an incredibly disappointing ending for Bailey, whose exit sparks mixed reactions throughout the football community. At the end of the season, Scully joins the Giants. For Bailey, he reemerges late in the football season as a commentator for radio station SEN 1116, before he joins Adelaide on October 4 as its strategy and innovation coach.

2012 – Bailey’s first season at Adelaide – assisting first-year coach Brenton Sanderson – is a successful one on the field. After Adelaide finishes 14^th in 2011 with Craig and later Mark Bickley at the helm, Sanderson oversees the Crows to third on the ladder. They fall short by five points to Hawthorn in an almighty first preliminary final at the MCG. The final is regarded as one of the great clashes of the modern era. But earlier, on July 30, former Demon and now Carlton midfielder Brock McLean claims on Fox Footy’s On the Couch – featuring Roos – that he left Melbourne as it was “experimenting” with its form and players. McLean says he feels for Bailey, as he believes the former Melbourne coach was put in an “uncomfortable position”. McLean’s quotes spark an investigation by the AFL, which lasts seven months. 

2013 – On February 19, the AFL hands down its findings into the AFL’s investigation into the club’s on-field performance during the 2009 season. Bailey is suspended from coaching for 16 rounds and former Melbourne football operations manager Chris Connolly is banned from football for 11 months. On November 27, it’s announced publicly that Bailey has cancer. The Crows release a media statement saying: “Following a recent acute illness, Dean was admitted to hospital where he was found to have fluid in his left lung. This has been treated but the underlying cause is unfortunately cancer within the chest. Dean is undergoing extensive tests to determine the exact type of cancer but this has yet to be determined. He will shortly start appropriate therapy to treat the cancer and is expected to require some time away from work. Dean has a typically positive outlook and hopes to be returning to work as soon as possible. In the meantime, our collective thoughts and best wishes are with Dean, (wife) Caron, (sons) Darcy and Mitchell.” Bailey’s son Darcy, who plays one SANFL match for Glenelg in 2013, after kicking four goals against Central District in a reserves preliminary final, joins the Crows’ inaugural development squad.

2014 – On January 10, the Adelaide coaching staff shows its support for Bailey, by shaving their hair. Adelaide chief executive Steven Trigg says: “It was a message to our mate that we're thinking of him.” On February 11, The Age reports that Bailey returns to Melbourne to have cancer treatment. Adelaide list manager David Noble says: “I popped around and saw him on Saturday and I know a couple of the other guys called through and said g'day. He's in really good spirits. It is great that he's able to be at home at the moment with his family. All our support is with him at the moment and we really look forward to the time that he can get back to work." On March 11, Bailey tragically passes away aged 47. The football community mourns the passing of a highly-respected man – both on and off the field.