Middleditch sees Pirates and Robins in Elite League final (From This Is Wiltshire)

POOLE team manager Neil Middleditch believes his Pirates side and the Swindon Robins are destined to meet in the Elite League grand final.

The top two teams in the table go head-to-head at Blunsdon tonight and look set to fight it out between now and the end of the season in a bid to finish top of the pile, earning the right to pick their play-off opponents in the process.

But Middleditch is convinced the two teams have what it takes to progress all the way to the final, and is looking forward to the teams’ match at the Abbey Stadium tonight.

“It looks that way at the moment but the play-offs have a strange habit of doing funny things, so we will have to see,” he said.

“Whichever teams make the play-offs it is certainly going to be tought, because it always is, but Swindon and Poole are looking good.

“It is just a shame we have not been able to test ourselves against each other yet, because the weather has got in the way every time.

“The weather played a big part in the last meeting but there were no excuses, and all it took was a great pass by Hans Andersen on the last lap for them to take the win.

“Chris Holder had a few problems and the track wasn’t great, but those are not excuses because we will be stronger next time.

“We haven’t had a meeting on a prepared race track yet, and maybe that will come over two legs in the final, you never know.”

Meanwhile, former Poole captain Jason Crump is the guest of honour in the Legends Lounge tonight as his grandfather Neil Street is inducted into the Robins Hall of Fame.

Street died during the winter following a glittering career in the sport as both a rider and a manager. Three-time world champion Crump himself had a spell riding for the Robins.