If Surbiton lift the Men’s Hockey League Premier League championship title this weekend, they will have to do it without the league’s leading scorer Matt Daly.

The Kingston Grammar School teacher is in Sri Lanka this week on a school cricket tour and will miss the championship play-offs, with his place being taken by former England U16 captain 17-year-old Eddie Way.

Daly and strike partner Alan Forsyth have been responsible for 43 goals for the club in the league this term.

But head coach Todd Williams has every confidence Way can fill the void when his side take on near neighbours Wimbledon in the semi-finals at the Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre in the Queen Elizabeth Park.

“We knew this was going to happen. Matt told me about it and he could not get out of it because he is the most senior member of staff on the trip,” he said.

“Matt has got another couple of years left in him, but there has to be life after Matt and this is a great opportunity for Eddie.

“We threw him in for the cup semi-final a couple of weeks ago and he flicked a goal in for us.

“If there was someone better than him then he would be playing, but he is involved in the England U18s set-up and clearly has a bright future so why not give him a go.”

Surbiton and Wimbledon go head-to-head on Saturday for the third time this season with the Dons holding the upper hand in terms of results this term.

But head coach Todd Williams is not putting any pressure on his men.

“It is two cup finals for us,” he said.

“If we are to win we have to get past a very good Wimbledon team. They have a number of guys in the England squad plus someone with a huge amount of experience in Ben Hawes.

“We have shown this season that we have been the most consistent out of the two teams, but they are going to be a handful.

“We are in this for the long haul. We are building something and we want to be in a position where we are finishing in the top two every year and a year when we win it goes down as a good one.”