STRENGTHS:

+ Contested marking
+ Athleticism
+ Aerial ability
+ Scoreboard impact
+ Big-game player
+ Forward craft
+ Upside

IMPROVEMENTS:

- Defensive pressure
- One-on-ones

While a finger injury did curtail Baron's early season and resulted in a little bit of rust early for the Maroons, Baron's ability is undeniable. Her aerial contest, safe hands and athleticism make her quite the handful for any opposition defender. She can leap, get out on a quick lead, or bring the ball to ground for her smalls to run rampant.

Baron's contested marking is her greatest strength, and once she gets front position in an aerial duel, she is too hard to move or beat. While she does have to work on her one-on-ones - in regards to her strength - the way she wins plenty of marking contests is by being proactive, getting to the front and sticking the dukes out where no one can spoil.

Her speed on the lead is an underrated quality and something that really improved from her Under 16s season to her bottom-age campaign. She worked up the ground to get involved, and even ran through the ruck which showed she could rotate into that second position. At the recent National Draft Combine she measured in at 178cm was among the top 10 in the standing and running vertical jump and fared fairly well in the 20m sprint and agility test.

While other athletic forwards might be more explosive or agile, Baron does move well for her size, and with that vertical leap, all she needs is a little bit of speed and she is too good not to mark it. If she is on an equally athletic defender, Baron's forward craft ensures she reads the play and gets to the front spot, or times her jump to perfection to take it at the highest point.

A key improvement for Baron will be her defensive pressure at ground level. She can be better below her knees, but mostly with her tackling or looking to lock the ball in. That, along with building more strength to compete in one-on-ones are the main areas the Sharks junior has been targeting in order to compete more efficiently against bigger bodies.

Having already kicked bags at different points in big games - such as this year's QAFLW Grand Final - Baron does not shy away from the key moments. She stands up in clutch times, delivers well, and can equally get her teammates involved with nice field kicking going inside 50. While starring for Southport to remind everyone what she is capable of, her national carnival can be put down as a write off given her long-term injury and some seriously tough contests.

What Baron has shown over the last couple of years is enormous potential, because her contested marking, athleticism and reliability in front of goal all adds up to the Gold Coast Suns Academy junior primed to make a big impact at AFLW over the next few seasons.