MATT Ford bid farewell to Pirates hero Chris Holder before admitting of younger brother Jack: "He could become the main name in the Holder family."

As revealed by the Daily Echo yesterday, former world champion Chris has been ruled out of Ford's team-building plans for next season.

But the news has been sweetened somewhat by the confirmation Jack, who joined Pirates on a full transfer in July, is the first name on the teamsheet for next year on a 7.16 average.

The youngster is the reigning Australian under-21 champion and impressed in scoring two points as a reserve in last month's Grand Prix in Melbourne.

While admitting his disappointment there would be no brotherly duo in the Poole septet, promoter Ford revealed the 20-year-old's huge potential was a great source of excitement at Wimborne Road.

Ford told the Daily Echo: "It's a bittersweet feeling because I truly imagined the Holder brothers would line up to represent Poole at the same time. Sadly, that has been delayed.

"Jack is a rider going places and going there quickly. He is very similar in ability to Brady Kurtz but probably doesn't have quite so much regard for people in name and ability.

"Jack is of the mindset that it doesn't matter who he races against, they are there to be beaten.

"His first heat in the Grand Prix at Melbourne, where he ran a second place, showed the ability he has. You have to take your hat off to him and acknowledge the kid has great potential.

"Just as Chris first joined us in 2007 and rode for us in 2008, I see Jack being very similar. All being well, he will have a long and distinguished career at Poole.

"Long term, Jack may go on to be the main name in the Holder family. He certainly has that type of ability."

Ford admitted the bumper average of older brother Chris made him too difficult to include in the new team, despite the 29-year-old's distinguished spell in the skull and crossbones.

The Sydneysider is the sixth-highest scorer in club history and has contributed towards no fewer than 13 trophies in nine straight seasons at Poole – including five league titles and three Knockout Cups.

The Ringwood-based charger heads into the new SGB Premiership season with a beefed-up average of 12.53 following a revamp of rules at last week's annual meeting of British speedway bosses. And Ford said this was simply too high for inclusion in the Pirates septet.

He told the Daily Echo: "I'm not able to offer Chris a contract for the start of 2017.

"Even if he were to score a 12-point maximum every meeting, effectively we would be giving away half a point in our team-building structure. It would cause the club too many problems at the bottom if we chose to go down that route.

"The door to Chris will always remain open. There has not been any falling out whatsoever – it's purely a numbers game."