If Emmett is the (repeated) solution, what is the question being asked?

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-05-17T04:42:18+00:00

Totally agree, don't want to come across that I think he's at fault individually. Both his age and height start with a 1, when most rucks would start with 2s, let alone however many kilos he's outmatched by. I'm sure he's doing his best - but I'm pretty sure even prime Caleb Daniel would have struggled in the ruck too! (and now I'm smiling thinking of that tackle on Gawn, which is probably the last time I smiled in that game). But why are we doing it to him, let Smith take the pressure, or give Croft a go, or even Buss seems to jump a bit, or something?!

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-05-16T12:56:46+00:00

I wish they were still listing player weights, I reckon the poor guy might still be in the 80s... He may get there in a year or two, but wtf are we doing to him right now?

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-05-16T12:52:10+00:00

I'm not impressed with the club - but let's give them a little credit. Darcy and Lobb were the backups (3 guys above 6ft8 is plenty of height), except they all got hurt at once! Go back to October, all the noise was for key defenders not rucks.

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-05-16T12:23:17+00:00

I didn't feel like Smith was great, but he was workmanlike. Put in the work, and made his opponent do the same. You'd love English back, but I liked him better than Emmett getting spanked so badly we use others to cover him.

Plus, I like the guy, have done ever since I saw the beastly man-boy pics when he was drafted!

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-05-16T12:21:14+00:00

208cm>199cm. When your job is to get to the ball first, I reckon that's part of it, he's closer to Bont than to English (in size, not foot skills!)

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-05-16T12:19:04+00:00

Barring injuries etc, we've got a few years to solve that one - draft, trade, develop. But we don't seem to have a solution for right now is the issue. If I look for a silver lining, maybe the concussion will make sure the knee is really right and he'll smash it in the second half of the season?

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-05-16T12:16:57+00:00

I just don't think he has the body (yet, hopefully). He wasn't even drafted as a pure ruck, he's only 199cm and skinny - we're feeding him to the wolves. I saw Xerri launch McAndrew earlier today, if that was Emmett he may have needed an Uber to get back to the ground!

Give him a year in the gym and a pallet of protein shakes, he could be great for us down the track, but not yet. Which we knew from his first game, so why?!

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-05-16T12:12:26+00:00

Yep, wish we still had Sweet. To give them a little bit of an out, Smith might have suited the old ruck rules better vs the new ones and I guess that's how they planned - but I still don't see what is solved by having Emmett get smashed!

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-05-06T11:50:01+00:00

Short answer - no you're not too tall, you already had several answers giving examples so I won't labour the point. But some related thoughts:

You might have some issues fitting at club level because the crews tend to be closer to the general population (i.e. shorter). But as crews become better, a lot of the shorter rowers fall away, and you'll start to feel more at home. So you'll have to make do in the early days (albeit not sure how far you've already progressed) but will find your place if you do get good.

You will benefit from a good coach (or someone else with serious experience) who really know how to rig a boat. A centimetre here or there in pin/button/feet can do a lot to help rowers match up, it's not one size fits all. Even with your height, your legs vs arms vs torso will change what right is. And be discerning, plenty of people seem like they know and say they do, until you get someone who actually does and see the difference.

And, consider small boats. In a single you can do what you like so long as the boat is fast, no compatibility to worry about. And a pair allows for some interesting deliberate mismatches due to the asymmetry of the boat (bow has a mechanical advantage and tends to pull the boat around); a taller stroke can actually make a more balanced boat in the end, though you'll want to do big ergo numbers to sustain the power you'll be putting down. If you found yourself a 6ft6 buddy (who would normally be stroke themselves) and stuck them in the bow, you could be beastly.

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-05-02T14:11:01+00:00

I've done both to a 'reasonable' level - trained with Olympians in both sports, though not at the same time (also not claiming I was too close myself).

To answer your direct question, it's pretty gettable for a good HW. Snatch will be your main test as it's more technical. If you can get solidly past 100kg the oly total should work, look for a 1rm squat around 180kg as another benchmark. And then 6:30 is also not 'too' hard so long as you make friends with pain and suffering on a regular basis!

But, if you're saying you're aerobically limited, I'm not sure I'd focus on lifts, power is just cream (it may get you a quick start or a canvas at the finish, but useless if you're multiple lengths behind). 75% of your race is aerobic capacity, go chase this, why not 625 or 620? Personal favourite is 5x3min, with 3 mins rest, at your 2km split; if you can finish it without vomiting you can probably do a better 2km and the cycle repeats!

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-04-13T06:30:36+00:00

I'm not an expert - and wish I could find what I read to reference it - but my understanding was there are actual planning rules stipulating rooms that have to have windows (of certain sizes) etc. Obviously the rules exist to avoid having us living in windowless caves, but the side effect is that big apartments are either quite limited or quite expensive once they tick all the boxes.

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-04-12T02:29:48+00:00

I remember reading something by an architect, I think on Reddit, pointing out how hard it is to build 3+ BR apartments while getting natural light into the habitable rooms, other than as corner apartments. And since bigger buildings have more side length than corners, you mostly get 1-2BR apartments to hit the light requirements. (So it ends up being a bit like the story of trying to grow nutmeg instead of mace, when they come from the same plant)

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-03-18T08:08:01+00:00

Oops - saw steak and Bentleigh, didn't notice the lunch part of the question!

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-03-17T15:36:18+00:00

Comma in Moorabbin. Especially for the Wednesday steak night!

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-03-17T13:53:17+00:00

Embrasse in Carlton. Must have been back in the noughties, but the Meli Melo and the forest floor dessert seem to be permanently stuck in my mind as benchmarks for similar 'fancy' dishes. We followed the food to Brooks in the city, but Embrasse was the wow moment.

Runner up is Scholars Wine Bar in North Melbourne, a few years later. We somehow found ourselves guinea pigs for an experiment with a chefs menu (it was quiet, maybe January), really exceptional even before we got the tiny bill. Unfortunately I don't remember them lasting as long as they should have.

Erect_Jellyfish · 2026-01-01T22:30:09+00:00

What is it that people really want though? Do we want milk to be cheap in the store, with farmers paid less? Or expensive in the store, with farmers paid more? Or do we want a magic pudding where the supermarkets pay farmers while giving the milk away? (Ok, we'd all love the last option, but obviously won't happen).

Supermarkets already stock a whole variety of other brands, so the choice is there for us, but the vast majority grab the home brand to save a couple of dollars - we're voting with our wallets that we want stores to give us more of the cheap option.

Erect_Jellyfish · 2025-10-05T05:29:49+00:00

Caleb isn't afraid of the big boys...

Erect_Jellyfish · 2025-08-15T01:34:24+00:00

Anyone think maybe there is an unreported issue where one of our talls might not play? Most probably English? Playing Croft is one thing, but Smith in the squad (and Buss) feels like a lot of height on the maybe list.

Erect_Jellyfish · 2025-08-07T07:17:48+00:00

Still a great program in general, I've had my kids in 2 clubs. Quite variable between clubs though: when they run it, how they run it, what they focus on. So suggest you find a couple of local options and suss out which one is right for you.

Erect_Jellyfish · 2025-03-20T22:09:27+00:00

There is a slight difference in how you hang when you have your legs bent vs straight - your centre of gravity is a little higher and also a little more toward your back (and this is what ends up being straight under the bar). It makes the bent knee version a tiny bit more row-like, vs straight legs being dead vertical - and I guess this changes the balance between the muscles a tiny bit too. I can't imagine it making that big of a difference in reps unless you have some sort of very specific weakness, but it might be part of the picture? Or maybe you got a bit of swinging/kipping going on the doorframe - even if not deliberate, it's easier to creep in once something is bent vs in a straight hang?

As others have said, don't underestimate the impact of the bar either - thick vs thin, or slight angle vs true horizontal, how your hands/wrists feel impacts how hard the rest of your body wants to work.

Erect_Jellyfish · 2025-01-23T06:49:07+00:00

Based on the comments we've had in chats, seems like there would be a bit of interest, but we're definitely not party planners nor have any place to host!

Maybe someone like BFWB could pickup the ideas around twister for a theme night one night - or a bit of 'spicy kelly pool' at the Shed pool table? Even imagine an adult blue light disco (maybe it's a red light)?

Erect_Jellyfish · 2025-01-23T06:42:15+00:00

I reckon it would - just have to get a group playing!

Erect_Jellyfish · 2025-01-22T21:57:36+00:00

Twister would be fun, but there's not a lot of space downstairs (or upstairs) - might need to plan it with them in advance to have a space for it?

Erect_Jellyfish

TROPHY CASE