PROMOTER Matt Ford labelled as "very strange" the notion of Pirates lining up against Chris Holder in the SGB Premiership.

Poole asset Holder is free to find a British club having been ruled out of Ford's team-building plans for next season due to his beefed-up 12.53 rating.

Only Jason Doyle and Niels-Kristian Iversen finished higher in the 2016 Elite League averages than Holder.

The Aussie star and former world champion is the sixth-highest scorer in club history and won 13 trophies in nine seasons at Wimborne Road.

Reflecting on the possibility of Pirates locking horns with Holder, Ford told the Daily Echo: "We had to ride against Darcy Ward when he represented Swindon against Poole in 2015 and it was very odd.

"This would be exactly the same. To go up against Chris, who has actually been with us longer, would be very strange.

"I know he would set about us in the same manner he would anyone else and I have no doubt he would be nigh-on impossible to beat."

Sydneysider Holder has already expressed disappointment over rule changes in British speedway which left him with a 12-point average for next season.

He tweeted: "These new rules for @SpeedwayGB ain't doin me no favours.

"It sucks they can jus change your average like that and put you out of a job that easily... cheers @SpeedwayGB."

Meanwhile, Adam Ellis has completed a move to Swindon – Poole's fiercest top-flight rivals – after Robins boss Alun Rossiter finally got his man.

Despite an impressive 2016 season with Pirates, Ellis's weighty 7.84 average saw him omitted from Ford's team plans.

And the France-born 20-year-old, who based himself in Ringwood during the campaign, admitted earlier this week that he was struggling to find a British club for next season.

However, Lakeside asset Ellis has now agreed to join the Robins where he links up with Doyle, who is on a colossal 13.41 average.

Rossiter told the Daily Echo: "I was close to signing Adam in the draft last year but he ended up at Poole.

"I'm a big fan of his and from what I've seen of him in the season just gone, I reckon next year will be a big year for him. I've got a very good feeling about it.

"He impressed me at the Elite League Riders' Championship and something tells me he doesn't get fazed. It might surprise a few people but sometimes you have to take these chances.

"People might think it's a bit of a gamble but I think he will come good. I certainly think he can be around his current average at the end of the year."

Discussing his move to Blunsdon, Ellis told the Swindon Advertiser: "Last season I was pretty close to coming to Swindon so when Rosco called and said that he wanted me it was pretty cool.

"Swindon should be a good move. The management team seem pretty good and I’ve always got on with Rosco."