Tony Browne backs Austin Gleeson to justify star billing for Waterford

Tony Browne feels Austin Gleeson is poised to prove exactly why he was named 2016’s hurler of the year when Waterford take on Cork in the summer’s second All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park this Sunday.

Gleeson’s form was a source of some concern earlier this summer after a patchy league campaign and a mostly anonymous performance against Cork in the Munster semi-final, the latter ending prematurely after 63 minutes when he was replaced by Jake Dillon.

Lining out at corner-forward that day, the now 22-year-old was handed a roving role but failed to leave much of a footprint on the occasion in Thurles - though one of his two points was utterly magical. He has enjoyed better days out since.