Off the Bench.
Into the Game.

Benched is an Australian sports and culture podcast where sport is the starting point, but rarely the whole story.

Hosted by former elite athletes Hannah Wilkinson, Mitch Brown and Rudy Jean Rigg, Benched brings together three very different sporting careers, and three people who know that what happens off the field is often just as interesting as what happens on it. Between them, they’ve played in a FIFA Women’s World Cup, built a decorated AFL career and competed at a national level in badminton. Every fortnight, they swap the changeroom for the studio to unpack the biggest moments in sport, internet chaos, pop culture, and the conversations everyone else seems to be avoiding.

Benched isn't tied to one sporting code. Whether it's AFL, football, cricket, the Olympics or whatever is dominating the group chat that week, the show explores sport as something much bigger than wins and losses. It's about identity, community, fandom and the strange, hilarious and deeply human ways sport becomes part of our lives.

At its heart, Benched is also a queer sports podcast, but not in the way you might expect.

Queer people are too often only included in sporting conversations when there's controversy, discrimination or a headline to respond to. Those conversations matter, and we have them. But we also make space for everything else: the friendships, rivalries, rituals, romances, inside jokes and unforgettable moments that make sport meaningful in the first place.

Being queer in sport isn't a niche experience…it's simply one perspective among many. Benched celebrates the diversity of people who play, watch, work in and love sport, and explores how identity shapes the way we experience the game without letting it define every conversation.

Expect iconic sporting moments, questionable takes, outrageous internet discourse, behind-the-scenes stories, hot gossip that probably should've stayed in the team chat, and guests who remind us that sport is always about more than the scoreboard.

If you love sport, sports culture, queer stories or just great conversations with people who know the game from the inside, pull up a seat.

Welcome to the team.