The advantage to being athletic and rangy, long and tall, is leverage. It means a lot. If the taller longer dog is the same weight as his counterpart, and they are of close to equal in the other categories, the taller longer dog is 'bigger'. Being 'bigger' is always a huge advantage.

Similar in fashion to boxing. The taller guy with the reach has the advantage. The shorter guy can get there and he can win, but he has to work much harder to get the job done, maybe even take a few more shots in order to get there. Dogs no different.

EWO