THEY say you should never get a boy to do a man's job.

But no-one will be mistaking Pirates hotshot Edward Kennett for a boy any more, after a masterful performance at Lakeside last night.

This is the 21-year-old's final season at junior level and there will be no more World or British Under-21 Championships for him.

The time has come for Kennett to mix it with speedway's big boys.

And on last night's evidence, the Elite League's finest might want to take a worried glance over their shoulders.

With Jason Crump and Bjarne Pedersen forced out, due to their involvement in tonight's $100,000 German Grand Prix, Pirates needed a leader.

This is normally a role the GP duo share and their experience has been vital in making a young Poole team tick this term.

So when they left the young guns to their own devices last night, some may have wondered who would step up and steer the Pirates ship.

But Kennett grasped the wheel with both hands.

If you could capture his rapid development this season in one race, it would be heat 12.

His partner Troy Batchelor had endured a torrid evening up to this point, having been shunted in his opening ride and finished last in his second.

So when he finally made a blinding start in race 12, he must have been delighted to see a clear track ahead of him for four laps.

But little did he know about the dogfight that was going on behind him.

Kennett, starting off gate one, held his line beautifully on the inside and jumped into second place.

Lakeside duo Leigh Lanham and guest Joe Screen had other ideas, though, and launched a furious dual assault on the Brit.

Plenty of riders up and down the land would have a few wobbles with such a seasoned pair in hot pursuit.

But Kennett was the coolest man in the stadium, as he faultlessly defended his line along the kerb to give Pirates a pivotal 5-1.

Pirates' pair then followed this up with a maximum in heat 15 over Lakeside's Gary Havelock and Ricky Kling.

This gave Poole's rivals all to do as they attempted to turn the average scores around.

Panthers were the Dorset side's biggest danger all evening, as they won the meeting with 43 points.

With both teams having raced two meetings each in the competition, their aggregate scores were divided by two to determine who faced Coventry and Swindon in next week's final.

Peterborough and Poole were neck and neck on this front all night, as the statisticians furiously tapped their calculators in search of winner.

But it was Pirates who emerged with the slenderest of victories, averaging 40.5 to Panthers' 40.

To be fair, Peterborough put the final nail in their own coffin, when Daniel King pulled up while holding second place behind partner Niels-Kristian Iversen in heat 17.

With Steve Boxall and Adrian Gomolski never seriously threatening, this likely 5-1 would have sent Panthers through.

Given the Cambridgeshire team's well documented financial problems and low gates at the East of England Showground, their elimination probably will not upset too many people at Alwalton.

Pirates will certainly not shed a tear either, as they bid to defend the only trophy in the Wimborne Road cabinet.