POOLE Pirates captain Danny King rode on despite "struggling to breathe" after colliding with the air-fence early on in last night's SGB Championship grand final first leg.

Pirates eventually emerged victorious against Leicester Lions at Wimborne Road, battling back from 10 points down to win 49-41 to have an advantage heading into Saturday's second leg at Beaumont Park.

King had a tough start to the night, sliding out and into the fence in heat one. He looked in some discomfort and required assistance to free himself and return to the pits.

The 36-year-old was excluded from the re-run, but proved one of Pirates' standout performers for the rest of the evening.

Battling through the pain barrier, King was unbeaten by an opponent for the rest of the night, totalling 8+1 from his remaining three scheduled rides to haul Pirates up off the canvas. That included victory in heat 10, ahead of former Pirates pair Richie Worrall and Scott Nicholls.

"Danny (King) was struggling to breathe, but he said 'I'm going to keep going, we need the points'," revealed team manager Neil Middleditch.

"He said 'I can go in heat 15 if you really want me to' and I said 'well, if you're not 100 per cent, I really can't risk it'."

Instead, Steve Worrall teamed up with Richard Lawson, the pair combining for a big 5-1.