By Stephen Brook and Kishor Napier-Raman
Ex-Liberal treasurer and former member for Kooyong Josh Frydenberg spent the weekend on the couch as his favoured candidate, Jacquie Blackwell (chair of Kooyong’s Liberal Federal Electorate Convention), failed to beat Amelia Hamer in the Liberal Party preselection for the state seat of Malvern. But that is the least of his concerns.
Winner George Batziakas and ex-treasurer Josh Frydenberg who retired hurt from the family and social grand final at the South Hawthorn Tennis Club.Credit: Hawthorn South Tennis Club
Frydenberg, 54, who is now Goldman Sachs Australia chairman, is about to be whisked into surgery to reattach his torn hamstring tendon after coming a cropper in the men’s singles final during the family and friends tournament at the South Hawthorn Tennis Club a few weeks ago.
Over to the club bulletin match report: “The first set was a tight tussle before Josh Frydenberg claimed the first set 7-5.
“The second set promised to be an even closer encounter, before disaster struck and Josh went down with a serious injury before he retired hurt.”
Frydenberg’s father, Harry, a surgeon, raced out of the clubhouse onto the court with a bag of frozen peas.
“George and the crowd were very gracious in applauding Josh when he finally got up to leave the court,” the report continued, sparing Frydenberg nothing. “We all wish Josh a speedy recovery.”
His 22-year-old opponent, George Batziakas, claimed the title. The recovery period means that the hamstrung Frydenberg will be unable to defend his Lorne Country Club summer tennis classic championship title in January.
We are sure the Liberal moderate will be fighting fit come the second half of 2026, when HarpersCollins is due to publish his autobiography, which is being written with the help of cricket-obsessed scribe Gideon Haigh.
Some political watchers insist that the forthcoming book makes it all but certain Frydenberg will stand in Kooyong against teal independent Monique Ryan, who narrowly saw off Hamer at the federal election in May.
Josh Frydenberg and Amelia Hamer campaigning in Kooyong earlier this year.Credit: Rachael Dexter
Others say it is too early for all that – but the book is a canny sign that The Fry is keeping options open.
Ever eager to help, CBD has come up with a list of potential titles for the tome: Game, Set and (Political Re)Match; The Colt from Kooyong 2.0; Lazarus with a Triple Hamstring Bypass, and our personal favourite - The (Not Decided But Keeping Options Open) Kooyong Comeback Kid.
Victory lap
Did any readers attend the Rufus du Sol gig at the weekend? We didn’t either. Let us explain, before either of our mothers get on the phone to critique our journalism, that Rufus is an alternative dance pop band from Sydney consisting of Tyrone Lindqvist, Jon George and James Hunt, best known for their post-sesh kick-on anthem innerbloom.
The gang assemble for the Rufus du Sol concert.Credit: Sam Groth/Instagram
One couple that did attend the gig at the Qudos Bank Arena was Victorian Liberal deputy leader Sam Groth and his wife, Brittany, heading away from Melbourne fresh from their very lucrative defamation settlement (after one court hearing) against our dear friends at the Herald Sun.
The Groths had swapped out their regular dance partner, the anti-home invasion social media influencer Bec Judd (see our coverage of Adelaide’s LIV Golf tournament and the Melbourne Cup carnival) for defamation silk Sue Chrysanthou, SC, letting her hair down after representing Pauline Hanson in her racial discrimination appeal. One of this column’s more unexpected sentences, but there you go.
It looked like a random victory lap, but that was before we were reminded that band member Jon is the son of Patrick George, who alongside Rebekah Giles makes up Chrysanthou-adjacent legal firm Giles George. Everything is connected, folks.
That might explain that, but we’re still scratching our heads as to why the social media avoidant Chrysanthou popped up in a bizarre clip outside court defending a giant fox.
It all turned out to be a plug for children’s book author Lisa Nicol and her book The Adventures of Pongo and Stink, which clearly gained the seal of approval of the defamation barrister, or presumably more pertinently, her four children.
CBD hears that the quartet were less than impressed with the barrister hamming it up on Instagram and, in the vernacular, laughed their arses off.
Light switches roles
Six months on from Anthony Albanese’s crushing election victory, and the revolving door is still spinning, with Labor figures leaving politics behind – and announcing it on LinkedIn.
The latest departure is ALP deputy national secretary Jen Light, who announced her departure on (where else?) LinkedIn this month, and held her farewell party at (where else?) the Kingston Hotel at the weekend. The venue is affectionately known as “the Kingo” and is now firmly established as the bipartisan watering hole of choice for the Canberra bubble.
A career Labor apparatchik, Light was heavily involved in the party’s immensely successful election campaign, running its target seat strategy, which ended up delivering far more than even some party insiders even dreamt of.
Where to next for Light? We hear her post-political career is taking her to a role at Australia Post, where former Michelle Rowland spinner Arley Black works.
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