Two-time Carlton premiership player Peter Dean was rushed to hospital on Monday night after being allegedly attacked in Albury's town centre, leaving him unconscious and with significant injuries to his head and face.
The incident occurred around 8pm AEDT while the 60-year-old Dean was collecting takeaway food.
It's understood he saw two individuals attempting to break into a car and decided to speak to them, after which he left the scene. However, he was allegedly followed and then attacked.
The father of Harry Dean, who was selected with Pick 3 in the 2025 National Draft, was found unconscious and taken to hospital, where he returned to a stable condition.
"Following inquiries by detectives from Murray River Police District, police arrested a 17-year-old male," a police spokesperson said, according to The Border Mail.
"He was taken to Albury Police Station. The young person will be dealt with under the Young Offenders Act."
Since Dean hung up the boots in 1998, he has been a well-respected coach at the junior level. He coached the Murray Bushrangers in the TAC Cup between 2006 and 2007, and currently coaches Ovens and Murray Football League side Lavington Panthers' under-18 team.
Panthers' president Peter Barwick said the club was "devastated" to hear the news.
"It's just devastating that it could happen," Barwick told the Herald Sun.
"We told the players last night what had happened, and they were just devastated.
"He's such a down-to-earth bloke. If you didn't know him, you wouldn't know he had been an AFL player.
"All he's worried about is making sure the kids he coached all turned out to be good kids."
