Paul ‘The Fatman’ Vautin was a grand final captain for Manly in 1987, captained Queensland in two winning State of Origin games, and was an Australian Kangaroo representative.
Other famous men to captain a winning grand final team (NSWRL/ARL/NRL), captain Queensland, and play for the Kangaroos include: Arthur Beetson (Roosters), Mal Meninga (Canberra Raiders), Allan Langer (Brisbane Broncos), Darren Lockyer (Brisbane Broncos) and Cameron Smith (Melbourne Storm).
Only 18 Queenslanders have played more Origin games than Fatty.
How big was the Fat?
If you lined up every Australian male in order of height, the Fat would be in the middle. Standing at 176cm, Vautin the lock/second rower is the same height as the average Australian male. And that is the problem, modern Origin players are tall and average 185cm, 9cm taller than Fat.
The smallest Origin players this series were five eighths Anthony Milford and James Maloney. Each 176cm, same height as Fatty, same height as the average Australian.
Bottom line, the Queensland Origin team would never select a tiny tot in the forwards. And how much poorer would the game be without the Fat, a dead set character of the game.
And herein lies the problem. If a player like Paul Vautin would be overlooked due to being a comparative ‘runt of the litter’ in the modern era, have the NRL effectively destroyed hope and marginalised future rugby league players and supporters? And to the detriment of the NRL, has the NRL restricted itself to a smaller stock of players?
Maybe State of Origin is not your cup of tea. What do you want to be? A Wallaby? For most Australians, no chance. The 2015 Wallabies average height was approximately 188cm. Immediately a line is drawn through the names of the majority of would be rugby players. This means there is limited playing stocks available for professional rugby union to pick from.
Ok you live on the other side of the Barassi line, Australian Rules football it is. Surely Aussie rules is getting it right? Nope. The AFL is now geared towards players who are tall and able to run for miles each game. The average AFL player is 188 cm.
The result is this. Soccer is now a viable option in both rugby and AFL heartland. Soccer is getting a lot of things right, but perhaps its greatest attribute is that height (and bulk size) is not an advantage to the same extent which it can be in rugby union/rugby league/AFL.
What rugby union, rugby league and AFL are guilty of is mirroring the trends in American gridiron and basketball. This has happened in the span of a mere 40 years.
A lot of parents look at their kids and know they are not tall enough, or bulky enough. The English also average 176cm, and New Zealand 177cm.
The Fatman Rule
If I was king I would implement a boxing weight division style ‘Fatman Rule.’ The Fatman Rule would ensure that at the elite level, whenever a team takes the field, the playing team’s average height must not exceed the average Australian male’s height. Further the average BMI of the team must be within the average BMI range of a healthy Australian male. After all, team sports are supposed to be about being healthy, not bulky.
What would be the result? Participation rates and crowds would stand to increase. The game would have become about the every man again. Playing stocks would immediately swell at the elite NRL/rugby union/AFL level. A larger pool would suggest that you would be able to pick both great players and characters/role models for the game.
Heaven forbid more characters like Paul Vautin might emerge from this type of rule.
Brando Connor
Guest
If you are serious about bringing the game back to the average bloke. You need to get rid of these health food eating freaks. Strip it back to the basics of pies and beer. A simple rule change I like to call "score a try - eat a pie". Sounds complicated I know, but it boils down to if your team scores a try everyone on the attacking side has to eat a pie prior to the restart. Similarly no runners with sports water for rehydrating. Atleast once a half every player must run to the esky at the half way line and grab a tinny of beer and chug the whole thing, because we done believe in waste. And for hygene purposes stray dogs will roam the grounds cleaning up any spew. Rugby League safely back in the hands of the average bloke! You're welcome Australia.
Anthony
Roar Pro
Most footy fans would agree, Fatty is an icon of the game! If champion players of the past (like Fatty and other players from the 70's/80's) are now considered to be too 'small' to be given a look in these days, something has gone wrong with the game. The first stone to look under is height. The problem is these players are not small. The NRL has just gotten too big.
Bakkies
Guest
People are getting bigger and the Wallabies need at least four lineout jumpers to compete against teams like SA, England and Scotland who have tall jumpers to contest against. Tight head props are usually taller than loose head props. Some tight heads are around 188-190 cms.
Anthony
Roar Pro
I like your scale and tap measure imagery. For height, unless a Gattaca is done, height should stay pretty well constant. Granted you do get a marginal increase over time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXmU1Z8PNXk Your quote was used by Phil Gould just before the Origin Dynasty "a good big man will beat a good little man". Seems like QLD listened. You are dead right though, when the little man comes through great to see. Let's get more of them coming through though, and get back to 1970s/1980s size distribution!
Anthony
Roar Pro
Thanks for your comments bigJ. Muscle % is a great metric. The Intent is to bring the sport back to the everyman. Height is the key metric of the article. A secondary metric is BMI, but could this be interchanged with Muscle %? Sure why not. Before the recent push towards the chunky supersized players, there was a long proud history in which players had a more mainstream Muscle %. Play a few finals from the 70's and 80's, and compare to the modern day. Which is the better product, well that is up for debate.
Anthony
Roar Pro
You are spot on Nats. NRL teams like Melbourne are big battering rams and a few play makers. These play makers are not small though. They are taller than the average Australian male who is ~176cm. Smith - 185cm Slater - 178cm Cronk - 178cm Gilly is one of my favourite players of all time. But he wasn't small either. He was 178cm. He is also taller than the average Australian male. You see my point. That is where the game is trending and that is why the game needs the Fatty Rule. The Fatty was 176cm. We need both tall and short player opportunities.
Anthony
Roar Pro
Why would you say goodbye to the tall players. This rule still maintains tall players in the game. The coach just has to balance out the team with tall, small and average height players. Which is different to balancing out teams with tall and near tall players with a through token average height players (around 176cm) and no small players (less than 176cm).
Anthony
Roar Pro
Thanks Beergardener. The rugby codes no longer cater for a range of body types. TOO MUCH emphasis is now placed on size. A line is crossed through the short players. The original State of Origin played as you put it under 'socialist' rules. Players heights were far more in line with the average Australian males height than they are today. Was the original state of origin wooden, sterile. I think not. Then you could go through every single NSWRL team up until the height divergence started. Were these teams socialist teams? No way. They were hard and the fans loved and got behind their everyman champions.
Peter
Guest
Sociálist? Really? It's a frivolous article about bloody football, for heaven's sake!
Anthony
Roar Pro
Paul Gallen is not a 'shorty'. He is 1.8m which is above the average height of the Australian male (1.76m). But you've reinforced the point, he is short by modern NRL standards. Something needs to be done to get the game back on track.
Peter
Guest
Actually Paul Vautin has suffered a quite severe stroke with consequent brain damage but hey, great snarky comment! Hope it made you feel good.
Beergardener
Roar Pro
Seriously? Where is the "Ha" next to this article. It is ludicrous. Size, height, power, vertical leap and speed:weight ratios are what makes League and Union such great spectacles. Introduce a socialist rule like this and you reduce the importance of these attributes and therefore the spectacle of the games itself. Part of what makes the Rugby codes great to watch and play is that they cater to a range of body types, and they are some of the few sports where a combination of the above attributes are desired - either as a combination in one player or across a side. Introduce your ridiculous, socialist rule and say goodbye to: - Mountainous, fast, hard to pull down wingers like Jonah Lomu, Wendell Sailor and Corey Oates - the lineout in general and skilled jumpers like 2m tall and 110kg locks John Eales and Nathan Sharpe. And in League 2m behemoths like Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Shannon Boyd - hardly slow, lumbering and unskillful - Scrums and front rows and particularly the RU hooker like Stephen Moore - doesn't fit your BMI requirement - Playmaking forwards like John Asiata, Moose McGuire and Sam Kasiano - all can throw a cutout pass like a halfback and offer extra versatility, but wouldn't be chosen under your rules because you might need an 80kg turnstile of a forward to keep your average BMI low. Your point about promoting health is ridiculous, BMI is a load of crock and you can be 2m tall and 115kg (of muscle), exercise regularly and be one of the fittest blokes on the planet like some of the above players but be outside a 'healthy' BMI. BMI doesn't account for muscle mass which is heavier than fat, and therefore is not relevant to most athletes. Skinfolds would be a better measurement but are still not an exact science (just ask BJ Leilua). Coaches are already afraid to take risks and Rugby League in particular is already at risk of becoming sterile, wooden and overly homogeneous when it comes to height and weight. Your idea would sound its death-knell.
Ray
Guest
John Sattler was slightly shorter (175 cm) than Fatty, and the great Noel Kelly was only 180 cm, but I have no doubts either would hold their own in any modern scrum or game.
Anthony
Roar Pro
The Fatman Rule would not exclude Paul Sironen from playing as you would just need the TEAM average to be below the cap. What it does ensure is that the game doesn't become height dominated.
Big Daddy
Guest
Guys like bunny Reilly and stumpy Stevens who played for easts and parramatta. Also Paul Taylor from parra were guys who were not tall but played above their weight.
Wild Eagle
Guest
People are getting bigger and players are getting bigger so the Fat wasn't such a dwarf in his own era. Not big but not alone. The Broncos have just given the much bigger Saints team a touch up with some of the smallest little diminutive , midget dwarfs running around. ( thanks Rex )
Oingo Boingo
Guest
Facts are over rated Noel , when character assassinating , creativity and exaggeration are the order of the day.
BigJ
Roar Guru
What just like the 80's
Noel
Guest
I'm pretty sure he said 'over the last 4 games' or something like that.
Bunney
Roar Rookie
No. It's not time. Paul Gallen and Dallas Johnson are shorties who also excelled in the rep footy arena. Shaun Fensom has played close to 200 games, so has Elijah Taylor. Johnson, Fensom and Taylor are probably all similar stature to Fatty, but we won't miss their charisma when they've retired... You've conflated a few issues here, and frankly your suggestion is ludicrous.