NORTH Melbourne coach Dean Laidley said Sunday’s win over Essendon would go some way towards building the club’s morale after a tumultuous two weeks.

Laidley has spent much of the last ten days helping his players through the fallout of the controversial chicken video and said the victory was a stepping stone for moving on.

“A win doesn’t wallpaper over the cracks but winning certainly helps. I was banged over the head a little bit from what I said in the media on Thursday but I didn’t think it was reported all that well at all,” Laidley said.

The Kangaroos coach said he tried a variety of things to help boost the feeling among his troops.

“It was a tough week, particularly early. We did a lot of things different. We had lunch together, we went to the movies. We went about it a little differently before the game. We showed the boys a video and we really mixed it up,” he said.

One of the players involved in some drama over the past two weeks, Daniel Pratt, found himself at the centre of another situation in the final quarter when he became the first player to be penalised for deliberately rushing a behind.

Laidley said Pratt was resilient enough to move on from the error that temporarily gave Essendon the momentum and put them within seven points of the lead.

“He goes in the record books doesn’t he? Daniel can’t keep out of the limelight. To be honest I didn’t see it. I was looking down at the board and heard the roar,” he said.

“You reckon what he’s been through, that that little thing would rattle him? I wouldn’t have thought so.”

Laidley reserved special praise for captain Brent Harvey who turned in a best on ground performance after a disappointing opening three weeks.

“He was outstanding. Just his work rate. He started off this way last year and all of a sudden people say (it’s because of) the captaincy. He is still learning and juggling as he will do,” Laidley said.

“We said to him at half-time to take the game on. I thought he was very good.”