E+ on this plane isn't worth much, in comparison with regular ol' economy. (I'm 6'4", so I feel the OP's pain; before making 1K, flights to SYD were excruciating.) If you want to stand around out of the way, I like the last three rows of seats, on the sides -- 59-61. They're E-, but they feel a bit less cramped because there are fewer seats back there, and it's easy to get out and wander around the galleys in the back for a bit of a stretch.
The upgrade to business is very definitely worth it if the upsell is available.
Since everyone is offering medical advice, I'll put in a plug for Ambien. Here's my Australia sleeping methodology: Have dinner and fall asleep naturally -- it'll be late, and you'll be exhausted after the flight to LAX, so you should be able to sleep for a few hours. When you wake up, pop your Ambien and go back to sleep. You should wake up an hour or two before arrival into SYD.