From THAT infamous cheating scandal to assault charges and the arrest of Dean Laidley: How North Melbourne's golden team of the 1990s dominated on the field - only to struggle off it
- Dean Laidley isn't the only North Melbourne star to suffer a post-career downfall
- The 1996 premiership player was arrested and charged with stalking on Sunday
- Some of his former teammates have regularly made bad headlines in retirement
- A cheating scandal between Wayne Carey and a player's wife tore the club apart
- Star midfielder Shannon Grant was almost jailed for assaulting his ex-girlfriend
- Wayne Schwass admitted he was suicidal at the peak of his 280 game AFL career
On the field they were champions, with two premierships in the space of four years.
But away from the bright lights and packed stadiums, the North Melbourne teams of the late 1990s have not all fared so well.
Dean Laidley's alleged downfall is just the latest in a spate of unsavoury incidents to involve players from the champion team - among them a player some consider to be the greatest ever.
Infamously, the Kangaroos were torn apart at the peak of their powers by a cheating scandal involving their biggest star Wayne Carey and the wife of their club captain.
The North Melbourne Kangaroos won two premierships during the 1990s, but created just as many headlines off the field - particularly after revelations their star player Wayne Carey (left) was having an affair with the wife of club captain Anthony Stevens (right)
Carey (left) and Kelli Stevens (right) were caught together in the toilets at the 30th birthday for the wife of defender Glenn Archer. It was arguably the biggest off-field scandal in AFL history
After enormous success between 1996 and 2000, the Kangaroos fell off a cliff on the field in the 2001 season.
But that was nothing compared to what would unfold in the off-season that year.
In February 2002 at the 30th birthday party for the wife of champion defender Glenn Archer, the team's star Wayne Carey was caught in the toilets with Kelli Stevens - wife of club captain Anthony.
What would follow would be the biggest off-field scandal in AFL history.
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'When he (Stevens) saw me he said "What the f**k do you think you're doing?",' Carey wrote in his autobiography The Truth Hurts.
'The party started to degenerate into pandemonium: Sally (Carey's wife) was crying, Kelli was crying, Stevo (Anthony Stevens) was upset, there was shouting and tears.
'I guess I knew this was the beginning of the end. Everything that happened in my life afterwards stemmed from that stupid and selfish mistake I made.'
That incident saw the collapse of two marriages and the end of Carey's time at North Melbourne, as his teammates stood by their captain and forced Carey out the club.
In the weeks that followed the incident Stevens's teammates stood behind him (pictured) and forced Carey out of the club, despite the fact he is regarded by many as the greatest player to have ever played the game
Stevens (left) confronted Carey (right) at the party, with the champion forward later admitting in his autobiography 'I guess I knew this was the beginning of the end'
Carey left the Kangaroos to join the Adelaide Crows, with his first meeting against his former team resulting in several fiery on-field confrontations - including with Stevens (pictured)
Just weeks later the game's biggest player left the Kangaroos for the Adelaide Crows, before continuing to make headlines for all the wrong reasons in the years to follow.
He was arrested on multiple occasions in the U.S and Australia from 2004 to 2008.
Carey later admitted he had long battled alcohol and drug addition, namely cocaine.
While Carey was kicking goals at will for North Melbourne for more than a decade, at the other end of the field Glenn Archer was stopping them.
The tough and uncompromising defender was a key member of their 1996 and 1999 premiership teams, and won the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground in their 1996 win over Sydney.
He also famously shirtfronted Wayne Carey when he returned to face his old team in 2002, just months after the cheating scandal.
In June 2017, feared North Melbourne defender Glenn Archer (pictured) assaulted a volunteer at a local football game. He pleaded guilty but his conviction was overturned on appeal
So highly respected was Archer by his peers, that he was voted the Shinboner of the Century at North Melbourne as the player who most embodied the spirit of the club.
But even he could not escape controversy and in June 2017 was charged with assault by police after allegedly abusing a volunteer at a local football game.
Archer pleaded guilty and apologised for the incident, but had his assault conviction quashed last year after a lengthy appeal process.
Shannon Grant had been on the losing end of North Melbourne's first premiership of the 1990s, after being drafted by the Sydney Swans.
But after being traded home to Victoria in 1998, he made up for that loss with a best on ground performance for the Kangaroos in the 1999 Grand Final win over Carlton.
He retired in 2008 after 301 AFL games, but less than a decade later was sentenced to six months jail for assaulting his ex-girlfriend.
Shannon Grant (left) played more than 300 AFL games, but in retirement narrowly avoided jail for an assault on his former girlfriend Shannan Thomas (right)
Grant was initially sentenced to six months imprisonment for his crime which left his girlfriend bloodied (left), but that was overturned on appeal. Grant won the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground in the 1999 Grand Final
That conviction was eventually overturned on appeal, with Grant ordered to perform community service instead.
While many of his teammates' struggles came when their careers were over, Wayne Schwass was at his lowest when he should have been at his highest.
In a powerful social media post in 2017, the champion defender revealed that as he stood on the dias in 1996 a premiership winner he was 'faking' a smile.
'This is what suicidal looks like. A fake smile, acting happy and celebrating premiership success in 1996,' Schwass wrote.
'(The) truth was (I was) incredibly suicidal, looking for my wife in the crowd because I wanted to end my life.'
Schwass had battled depression throughout his football career and since retiring has become a motivational speaker, and advocate for men's mental health.
Dean Laidley joined North Melbourne in 1993 after five seasons with the West Coast Eagles.
Wayne Schwass was at his lowest when he should have been at his highest. In 2017 he revealed how in the hours after North Melbourne's 1996 premiership win he had 'faked' his smiles, as all he wanted to do was commit suicide after a long battle with depression
Since retiring Schwass (pictured) has become a motivational speaker and advocate for men's mental health
After retiring in 1997 he turned to coaching and in 2003 was awarded the top job at the club where he finished his career.
He coached the Kangaroos for six-and-a-half season before being sacked in 2009.
One of the most infamous moments of his career involved the suicide of a fan after a run-in with Laidley in 2006.
That incident 'haunted' Laidley, who in recent months had collapsed into despair, as those around the Moonee Ponds area where he lived knew all too well.
In recent months he had been seen getting about town barefoot and disheveled.
Laidley was arrested on Sunday evening and charged with stalking and a number of other offences.
The father-of-three was pictured wearing a blonde wig, makeup and a woman's dress during an interview with police. He also reportedly told officers to call him 'Daniella'.
Dean Laidley was arrested on Sunday and charged with stalking, among a number of offences. He was pictured wearing a blonde wig and women's clothing in a police interview, during which he also reportedly asked to be called 'Daniella'
Laidley played a total of 151 games for North Melbourne and the West Coast Eagles, and after retiring became the Kangaroos' senior coach (pictured)
It is understood those close to him were aware of his life choices and had accepted them.
A high-profile Melbourne lawyer, who said she was representing Laidley, confirmed one of the photos showed her client.
The lawyer, Dee Giannopoulos, hit out at those who had leaked the photo in an angry Twitter post.
'Outraged that pictures of my client, taken by some police officer, on the sly, when in custody in interview have hit the media. Typical,' she wrote.
He will remain behind bars until his next court appearance on May 11.
