Asked to guess which Manly player can crank the heaviest weight, most Sea Eagles fans would nominate two-metre front-rower Taniela Paseka. Maybe fellow props Matt Lodge or Josh Aloiai, or even explosive back-rower Haumole Olakau’atu.
But in what might come as a shock to most supporters, Ethan Bullemor – the Nathan Hindmarsh look-a-like who works in banking one day a week – has blown away his teammates to be crowned ‘King of the Gym’ at Brookvale.
The Sea Eagles have handed out a championship belt to the player who lifts the most combined weight with the bench press, bench pull, weighted chin-up, and a hand-supported split squat, or what is essentially a modified lunge.
And Bullemor was in a league of his own, bench-pressing 170kg and managing a whopping 270kg with the one-legged squat. For persepective, former Sea Eagles powerhouse Marty Taupau used to bench-press 180kg while Wallabies prop Taniela Tupou used to squat 300kg.
“Nobody else has bench-pressed 170kg this year, although I did do 180kg when I was playing with the Broncos – maybe I peaked when I was 19,” said Bullemor, now 24. “My best with the bench pull is 140kg, and I did 60kg with the weighted chin-up.
“A big thing with gym work is it helps with injury prevention – the stronger you are through your muscles and joints, it helps protect your tendons and other bits and pieces. ‘Weak Things Break’ was always the slogan we had.
King of the gym: Ethan BullemorCredit: James Brickwood/SMH
“The heavy lifting also transitions on to the field in some respects. I don’t often play big minutes, but when I do come on, I try to bring that explosiveness and power game.”
Manly’s head of performance Jon Clarke, who played for Great Britain and worked with England Rugby and Rugby Australia, said Bullemor was one of the strongest athletes he had encountered.
“In my experience, back-rowers in union are the most powerful players I’ve come across – but ‘Bull’ would mix it with any of them, without a doubt,” Clarke said.
“English back-rowers Tom Curry and Sam Underhill were unbelievably powerful, and Bull would sit right alongside them.
Manly forward Ethan Bullemor bench pressed a season-best 170kg this year.Credit: James Brickwood/SMH
“He has an ability to move heavy things quickly. That shows in the way he plays. He’s explosive, quick off the mark, and very good at changing direction. We saw all that with the try he scored on the weekend [against Canterbury].”
Clarke said Paseka and Corey Waddell lifted a lot of weight, but were no match for 110kg Bullemor.
Bullemor grew up in the Queensland country town of Springsure, about 750km north-west of Brisbane, and developed good habits in the gym when introduced to strength and conditioning training while attending Nudgee College on a rugby scholarship.
Bullemor will bring plenty of power off the bench on Saturday, and knows the Roosters pack will “be the best version of themselves” after being soundly beaten by Penrith’s own middle last Friday.
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