IF YOU'VE got height on your side - and limited ability - you may as well start pursuing an AFL career, North Melbourne great Wayne Carey says.



Carey, one of the great centre half-forwards of all time, says tall teenagers from around the country should be "clamouring over one another" to make it into AFL ranks.



"Our game has evolved so much in the last 20 years that pure football ability is no longer the No.1 pre-requisite," Carey writes in a Fairfax column.



"And of all the positions up for grabs for wannabe AFL players, it’s the position of ruckman which is there for the taking like none (sic) other."



The 272-game champion says the role of the ruckman has changed irrevocably, and uses Carlton's Robbie Warnock and Richmond's Shaun Hampson to illustrate his point.



"Warnock and Hampson have height on their side but what else?" he said.



"They're not aggressive nor do they have great running capacity. So exactly what is it about these super-tall players that attracts clubs?"



Carey also questions whether the recent trend of cherry-picking other tall athletes from other codes has any merit.



"Now we're starting to see AFL clubs looking the world over for gun super-tall athletes. Whether their backgrounds are volleyball, basketball, Gaelic football or athletics, they're all a chance to make a good buck in the AFL if they’re willing to give it a try. But what is their true value?" Carey said.



"Every single one of them will take time - often many years - to develop their games, and there’s no guarantee they'll make it at all. And if they can't read the game, struggle to get a kick and are average with their hands, then what are they really contributing, and at what cost to their club?"



Carey's argument echoes the thoughts of many others who believe natural footballers, those who grew up with the game, are being overlooked unfairly.



"Wouldn't you prefer someone who’s half-a-foot shorter but grew up with the game, who knows where to be on the ground, who can go forward, take marks and kick bags of goals, or who can be equally as good at the other end of the ground getting in the way of rival forwards?" he said.



"Where's it all headed? Are we saying that the game is just about athleticism?



"I’d argue there's much better value in a smaller footballer who actually knows how to play."



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