Matt Joy will play his last game for the team before he goes to police college in Porirua next month.
He will then move to Auckland to take up a job with the police in May.
The 25-year-old defender first played for then Otago United in 2011 and was named captain of Southern United for this year's ASB Premiership campaign last month.
His first day of an 18-week course at the Royal New Zealand Police College will be on January 25, but Joy will not be available for the team's games on January 10, 14 and 24.
He had hoped to continue playing for Southern United after the Christmas break, but time constraints and the risk of injury will see him finish up tomorrow.
‘‘I talked to the police and they said tomorrow would be the last one.
If I get injured before college, I'm done,'' Joy said.
Joy, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, is from Dunedin and attended Bayfield High School.
He started playing football when he was 7 and plays his club football for Dunedin Technical.
He studied physical education at the University of Otago, before working for ACC for the past two years.
It is quite possible Joy could be playing against Southern United this time next year.
‘‘Once I'm settled down up there, I will start playing again,'' he said.
‘‘There is another national league team [Eastern Suburbs] going in up there next year, so there is quite a few to choose from. I guess I could be playing against Southern United.''
But for now Joy is focusing only on his team's match against a strong Canterbury side at Rugby Park tomorrow.
The Dragons are fourth on the ladder with three wins and a couple of losses to show from their five matches.
Canterbury beat Southern United 2-1 in a pre-season match in Timaru in October, while the teams split last year's two matches.
‘‘They are a very good team,'' Joy said.
‘‘We know what they are like so we have to start strong and finish strong. It's absolutely vital we finish this part of the season with a win. We just need to get some points on the board and it could pick us up a bit.
‘‘A win before Christmas to lift spirits and get some momentum for next year.''
Waitakere United's 2-1 win against Hawkes Bay United on Thursday night left Southern United at the bottom of the league on three points.
Goals have been hard to come at the attacking end, while it has conceded a bunch of ‘‘tinny'' goals.
‘‘I hate conceding, especially real sloppy, tinny ones. There have been some shockers. It just frustrates me,'' Joy said.
Coach Mike Fridge said losing Joy after tomorrow's game was a ‘‘massive'' loss for the team.
It is the second time in two years he has lost his captain partway through the season. Last season, Frenchman Victor da Costa walked out on the team with four games to play.
‘‘We knew this could possibly happen. I was aware of it,'' Fridge said.
He will get a chance to replace Joy in the 25-strong squad when the transfer opens between January 5 and 13.
The second-year coach will be without striker Sam French for tomorrow's match.
He has not recovered from a hamstring injury picked up just before halftime in last week's 4-1 loss to Wellington.
Midfielder Tom Connor is also unavailable for the match due to personal reasons.
