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.

5Tony Shaw (170 cm)

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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - 1990: Tony Shaw, captain of the Magpies celebrates with the Premiership trophy after winning the 1990 AFL Grand Final played between the Collingwood Magpies and the Essendon Bombers held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground 1990, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Getty Images)

A premiership captain in 1990 and a two-time Collingwood best and fairest, the Norm Smith medalist is one of the club's legends. Shaw would be a part of both the losing 1980-81 premierships before he led Collingwood to their first in 37 years and nabbed two AFL team of the Year selections that cemented his status as being one of the competition's best midfielders for almost a decade.

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