Waterford will be looking to the brilliance of Jamie Barron roving from centre forward and a much-improved dead ball efficiency rate as they take on Cork in this afternoon's decisive Munster hurling championship round-robin clash.
Limerick's Cian Lynch drifted into the middle third from centre forward to deliver a man of the match display for the reigning Munster champions last Sunday at the Gaelic Grounds. Barron will occupy a similar role against the same opposition, hoping to find the same pockets of space across the middle third to create and convert crucial scores for his team.
The three-time All-Star midfielder has been lining out in the half-forward line so far in 2025 where only the county's record all-time scorer Stephen Bennett has scored more than him from play this season for Waterford.
Barron has converted 0-25 in nine matches for the Déise across a successful Division 1B league campaign and the first three rounds of championship, scoring in every game he's played in. So far in the championship he has 0-10 in three games, again all from play, as well as assisting or being fouled for 1-09.
Just under half of his in-play possessions have been a score or an assist (48%).
Last weekend, Lynch scored or assisted 2-03 for Limerick within 14 possessions. Barron is averaging 15 possessions per game and over 0-07 in scores and assists (including converted frees he was fouled for) across his team's win over Clare and defeats to Limerick and Tipperary.
With 11 on his back, the vast majority of his possessions have arrived in the middle third, with 61% of them taking place between the two 45s, and 37% in the opposition 45.
Operating in an almost advanced third midfielder role, Barron's possession map shows touches right across the entire middle third, however 14 of his 19 combined scores and attempts arrived down the right side of the field including all but one of his points.
Covering the ground at speed to provide a support option or be the link man in the space between the lines, Barron has received short passes or hand passes for 54% of his possessions with all but two of the others coming from him winning the breaks on the ground, receiving a puck out in space or completing a turnover.
Despite being named in the half-forward line, Barron does not hold the position nor contest primary possession as would be the norm which makes stopping him all the harder as his team-mates look for and feed him with high percentage passes.
The 31-year-old is however providing an impact with nearly every touch of the sliotar, which is why he is given this special license to rove.
Accumulating his scores, misses, the passes he provided for shots (on and off target) and the times when he was fouled for scorable frees - over two thirds of Barron's possessions so far this championship have led directly to a scoring opportunity (65%)- not including the penultimate passes he has given to create chances for his team mates.
Stopping Jamie Barron is easier said than done
In the first half of their Munster championship opener against Clare, Barron had seven possessions with which he scored 0-03, assisted 0-02, won a free which was struck wide and gave another pass just as the half-time whistle was blown to deny him a direct involvement in a scoring opportunity with every single touch.
He ended the contest with 16 possessions, half of which were scores or assists (scored 0-04 and assisted 0-04), he took on a further two shots and was fouled for a missed free. Against Limerick he managed 0-02 and 0-03 in assists from 15 possessions, hitting another wide and setting up a further two scoring attempts.
Last time out against Tipperary he assisted 1-02 and scored 0-04 from 15 possessions, as well as taking on a further three attempts for points and winning a free for another.
Stephen Bennett is the only Waterford player to have scored more from play than Barron both in the championship (2-07) and overall (2-22).
Despite providing clutch moments in the win over Clare as well as showing moments of brilliance against Limerick and Tipperary - while breaking Paul Flynn's record as the county's all-time top championship scorer - Bennett will need to be more consistent from placed balls if Peter Queally's team are to overcome the Rebels.
Waterford have failed to score with 15 of 37 dead ball attempts so far in the championship. The root of that being 11 misses from 14 attempts beyond the opposition 65m line for both Bennett and Billy Nolan when he's up from his goal to have a go.
Peter Queally's side will need to improve their efficiency from frees
Ultimately, Barron will create a dilemma for the Cork half-back line and midfield with his positioning and quality. Do they track him, hold their positions, look to share the marking load collectively or zonally?
If they don't manage his threat effectively expect Barron to flourish in the confusion, like Lynch did last week. That will increase the chances of a Waterford upset at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, however it'll mean little if they don't improve their efficiency rate, particularly from dead balls.
Watch a hurling championship double-header, Dublin v Galway (2pm) and Cork v Waterford (4pm), on Sunday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Highlights on The Sunday Game from 9.30pm
