Is it the heart or the height that makes a football player? That question has haunted some players careers on their way to proving everyone around them wrong, despite the genetic cards they were dealt in life.
But what if you were to line up all of the great small players to ever play the game and rank them among themselves as if they were matching up against one another in the same weight class?
Here's my ranking of some of the short kings to grace the game. Note that I'm classifying them as small based on being listed as 175cm or smaller.
Honorable mentions go to North Melbourne premiership player Barry Cable and West Coast All-Australian Phillip Matera.
7Lou Richards (170 cm)
It's difficult to rank and judge those who played during the 1940s-1950s era of football, but some players deserve respect for how their greatness helped shape the game today. The Collingwood premiership captain is no different, with Richards leaving a legacy of what it meant to be a Magpie after snapping the 17-year premiership drought for the club while leading the goalkicking three times for the club and notching two All-Australian appearances.
