The Greater Western Sydney GIANTS have expressed their sadness at the passing of Dean Bailey.

GIANTS Director  and inaugural coach Kevin Sheedy said: “I was fortunate enough to know Dean Bailey very well. I recruited him to Essendon and he was a very tough, reliable player who was very unlucky to not to have played in a Grand Final.

“Dean went on to become an excellent coach who helped Port Adelaide win a premiership in 2004. He later became senior coach at Melbourne which he helped drag off the bottom of the ladder and he handled his untimely departure from the club with tremendous dignity.

“He was a great football person who had a dry sense of humour and a very sharp mind. On behalf of everyone at the GIANTS, we pass on our condolences to his wife Caron and two boys Darcy and Mitchell. He will be sadly missed but certainly not forgotten.”