An Age article from April on non-AFL footballers in AFL coaching ranks - Daly, Brendan McArtney (Geelong), Danny Ryan (St Kilda) and David Rath (Hawthorn)DANNY DALY, NORTH MELBOURNETWO knee reconstructions slowed, then stopped Danny Daly's suburban football career with Balwyn. He was 29.
He had a degree in business management, and promotions were coming steadily at Westpac, but Daly, still needing his football fix, began to look for alternative roles in the game.
"I became a bit of an opposition coach for Balwyn at the time, I suppose," he said. He also began to study other codes.
Then, through football's network, he landed a part-time job at Collingwood. There, he met Dean Laidley; they immediately hit it off.
"We went to a few games together, found out we had the same beliefs about where footy was going, had the same passion for tactics and strategy," Daly said.
"We kept talking about it, and got to know each other pretty well."
When Laidley became coach of North Melbourne, he offered Daly a full-time job. "It was a fantastic opportunity," he said.
"I thought I'd give it a go — but probably end up back in the bank in 12 months."
The day he started, Geoff Walsh, then North's chief executive, underscored a home truth for him. "When you are employed by a footy club, you will get sacked at some stage," Walsh said. "I hope you realise that."
Seven years later, Walsh is gone, but Laidley is still there, and so is Daly. First he worked in player welfare, then at devising strategy for stoppages.
Now he is opposition coach. In 2007, when North made the preliminary final, he went to 104 games all over the country. Last Friday, he was in Cairns to watch Melbourne play, then on a 5am Saturday flight back to Melbourne for North's game.
If Daly is in town for training, he assists Anthony Rock with the midfield. Matchdays, he sits alongside Laidley, "feeding him information on what the opposition might be doing … and dodging the odd flying water bottle".
He still gets quizzical stares, even from North people, but says it does not faze him. "I'm not too concerned with being in the public eye," he said. "Whether people know me or not, I'll just do my job for the footy club."
At 42, football is his vocation. The Walsh dictum remains in the back of his mind. But if — when — Laidley moves on, Daly thinks he at least has a presentable CV. "I'd like to think I'd built a bit of a reputation out there a someone who might be worth looking at," he said. He was chuffed last year to be asked to assist Mark Williams coach the Dream Team.
North already has left Daly two enduring legacies: a fiancee — Shannon Grant's sister — and a third knee reconstruction. "Christmas with the Grants. We were playing beach rugby," he said. "I should have known better."
http://www.theage.com.au/news/rfnews/from-roads-less-travelled/2009/04/03/1238261800168.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
