Studs Up is a podcast hosted by Auckland-born and bred Riccardo Ball and Wellington’s loudest son, Daniel McHardy. They go head-to-head on all the big football issues from the EPL, Champions League, the A-League, and more.

On this week’s episode:

Ric and Daniel kick things off with World Cup qualifying chaos, and what a week it’s been.

Scotland break their 28-year drought, Austria are heading back to the big dance for the first time since ’98, Spain scrape through after a draw, and Wales smash North Macedonia 7–1 to lock in home-playoff advantage.

Plus, Ireland’s wild 3-2 thriller over Hungary has Troy Parrott stealing headlines.

But not everyone’s celebrating…

Nigeria’s shock exit sparks accusations of “voodoo” in the penalty shootout, and Gennaro Gattuso delivers an all-time whinge about Europe’s qualifying format complete with fact-checking required.

Then it’s back home for your A-League update, as the All Whites fall 2–1 to Colombia despite a brilliant Ben Old goal, and the Nix Women battle to a 1–1 draw with Newcastle. We break down the injury carnage, the debuts, and where the squad stands heading into the next window.

The lads also run through the full All Whites squad list, including notable withdrawals, returning veterans, and fresh faces ready to make their mark.

In Segment Two, it’s all about the Dettol National League.

We fly through the men’s and women’s results from Miramar’s big win over Auckland City to Wellington United smashing Central Football 9–0 and update the live ladder as the playoff picture starts to form.

In Segment Three, Lachie delivers another edition of Lachie’s Stat Attack before Ric and Daniel dive into a stacked EPL weekend:
Chelsea away at Burnley, Liverpool v Forest, Newcastle hosting Man City, Arsenal v Spurs, and United v Everton early Tuesday.

Plenty of games & plenty of takes.

And finally, the boys wrap things up with their best bets of the weekend, thanks to Betcha — with the hope of filling your beer fridge, not emptying your wallet.

(Betcha is R18, please bet responsibly.)