Laidley set Pratt's early course, delisting him when he arrived at Arden Street at the end of 2002.
Rookie-listed by the Brisbane Lions, Pratt was discarded by that club after three games but re-drafted by Laidley with a sixth-round pick at the end of 2004.
Eighty-one matches later, Pratt has gone a long way to repay his coach's faith and address the on- and off-field behaviour that may have forced his demise.
"It’s been different because I was probably one of the boys' boys at the club," he said. "You’ve got to balance your social life carefully with the way you go about it (football) because the microscope's always on you as a leader.
"That was one area that I had to work on. I couldn’t work with better blokes with the professionalism of Drew (Petrie), Brady (Rawlings) and Boomer (Harvey)."
Appointing Harvey as captain in November, North refined its approach to a leadership group that saw eight players support Adam Simpson at the start of the 2008 season.
Petrie is now Harvey's vice-captain while Rawlings and Pratt are deputies, and Pratt knows he has a lot to offer his younger teammates.
"It's good being able to get a good balance and having good relationships with younger players because it's such a young list," he said. "They’re going to want to be 18 and 19-year-olds occasionally and to be able to have older guys who can associate with them and relate with them, it makes it much easier to keep the team together.
"Simmo (Simpson) was such a strong leader for a long time. We’ve come in pretty much fresh without much experience and Boomer's doing a really good job as captain."
The 25-year-old also plans to better balance his approach to opponents and the ball after addressing those shortcomings partway through last year.
Following round three, Pratt entered a war of words with Hawthorn after midfielder Jordan Lewis was reported and suspended for striking him.
He served a week of his own for rough conduct on Collingwood ruckman Josh Fraser in round five – an incident that resulted in a 50m penalty and a goal.
And two weeks later Laidley singled out his player after the loss to Adelaide, saying that Pratt had to take a look at himself because he was sick and tired of him giving away penalties.
"The strongest part of my game is my aggression and the weakest part of my game can be my aggression," Pratt said. "If it’s not balanced right, things can go downhill very quickly.
"It doesn’t just cost me, it costs the team. I’m still learning that. I’ll never be perfect at it but I’d like to think that I can keep trying to do the right thing.
"It’s good having people around you who can always be honest and knock you on the head when they need to."
As a no-nonsense backman Laidley had a similar demeanour to Pratt, who senses that connection further strengthens their bond.
"He has a little understanding there of how I go about it," Pratt said. "It’s good having him there and it’s always good to talk to him about different things.
"He’s very open with me and will be honest and he will accept my honest feedback as well. I’ve got a good relationship with Dean and I’m glad that he’s the coach."
