Laidley said on Melbourne radio last Sunday that the Power's on-field malaise, highlighted by disastrous losses to cellar-dwellers Gold Coast and North Melbourne in consecutive weeks, stemmed from the mental attitude of the players.
"When Matty [coach Matthew Primus] took over this job, and I'm here to support him 100 per cent, he had to open a box and he's opened that box," Laidley told SEN.
"He knew what was in there, but you've got to keep going through with it now. There's a lot of work to do from a mental perspective, and culturally.
"There is a cultural problem within the playing group. We know and understand that."
Duncanson admitted Primus was trying to "get inside the heads" of the players in an attempt to uncover the source of their inconsistency, but said he was disappointed with Laidley's remarks.
"We would've preferred Dean didn't say that sort of thing, but that's what he thinks," Duncanson told radio 3AW on Monday night.
"Dean's comments are Dean's comments. It's an emotive game and sometimes the coaches speak from the heart, and don't think sometimes before they roll out what they’re thinking.
"He reports to Matty not me. I know Matty has spoken to Dean about that and what he meant by that. I'll leave it for them to sort through."
Critics have questioned everything from the players' work-rate and desire to their resilience and defensive mindset, prompting concerns over the club's overall culture.
Primus has tried to introduce higher standards of professionalism on and off the field as well as a more defensive style of play since being appointed as coach last September.
However, Duncanson said the well-respected former skipper was still trying to get his message across to certain players.
"We know the culture across the club is outstanding and it's built on a long succession of successful history," he said.
"We need to instil that through the playing group and make sure that culture [is the culture] of success that we've stood for over 140 years.
"Currently it's not and Matty understands that.
"Matty's got a lot of what he thinks is work to do on a number of players, but that's between Matty and the players.
"I know that he's working extremely hard and working overtime to make sure his message is getting through to those players."
Laidley has also been criticised for speaking out, given that his position is part-time and that he is only around the club a few days a week.
Duncanson conceded the arrangement, which sees Laidley commuting between Adelaide and Melbourne, wasn't ideal, but said the club knew the conditions of Laidley's employment when it asked him to stay on as an assistant coach this season.
"Matty wanted Dean here and it's his choice who he puts around him," he said.
"Dean does equally a lot of work for us in Melbourne, forward scouting for us and seeing what is going on at the other clubs at training.
There are some negatives with him not being here full-time, but there are also some positives with it.
"I know Matt has enormous faith in Dean and they've worked well together over a long period of time now."
