READING HC are aiming to dethrone East Grinstead as kings of England indoor hockey when they meet in the Super Sixes semi-final at Wembley on Sunday, writes Dave Wright.

The Sussex club have reigned supreme since 2009, but the Blues are determined to stop them lifting the title for the ninth time.

And Reading will go into their tie at the SSE Arena in a confident frame of mind, having already defeated EG this month.

That came in their final league game, played at Nottingham University, which the Sonning Lane men had to win to qualify for Wembley.

They triumphed 10-8 after taking a bold gamble of playing with six outfield players for the whole 40 minutes and leaving goalkeeper Tommy Alexander on the sidelines.

So will Reading adopt similar tactics for the semi-final?

“You will have to wait until Sunday to find out,” replied player-coach Andy Watts.

He added: “We will have a think about how we play, but at this stage we won’t be giving any secrets away. We will keep EG guessing.”

Reading, who last won the indoor title in 1998, will certainly give it serious thought as they draw up plans to end East Grinstead’s incredibly long run of domination of this popular winter competition.

Rick Mantell has taken on the extra responsibilities of kicking back in the past, but as he didn’t play at Nottingham, Tom Carson stepped in and the Blues skipper performed superbly.

It was Mantell who took on the role when Reading met Canterbury in the semi-final a year ago, donning the distinguishing vest at the start of the second half after Blues had trailed 4-0 at the interval.

The former England defender was outstanding, but still unable to prevent his side slipping to a 9-6 defeat, meaning more Wembley heartbreak for the Berkshire club.

Two of Canterbury’s goals on that occasion were scored by Harry Jawanda, but this year the Cannock outdoor star is now playing on the boards for Reading, one of his former clubs.

The ex-England international scored in all but one of the eight league games, finishing with 13 goals, which included a hat-trick against EG.

Dan Shingles, recently retired from the international scene, returns to the squad, having been unavailable for the indoor league.

Reading play East Grinstead at 2.45pm with the final against Surbiton or Sevenoaks scheduled for 5pm.

Super Sixes day gets under way at 11am with the first of the women’s semi-finals between Slough and Sutton Coldfield.