PIRATES team boss Neil Middleditch says Darcy Ward "seems so much happier” as the Aussie star continues his rehabilitation Down Under.

Wimborne Road favourite Ward suffered serious spinal damage in a crash in Poland last August and has been confined to a wheelchair since.

Ward has undergone rehabilitation at the Making Strides Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Centre in his home state of Queensland.

Previously he had been treated in Britain.

Middleditch delivered the update on Ward at a fundraising event for the 23-year-old at Poole Stadium tonight.

He said: “Darcy is working really hard and has got a smile on his face. 

"He seems so much happier where he is now and it’s great to see.”

Pirates star Chris Holder, a close friend of the two-time world under-21 champion, echoed Middleditch’s sentiments.

Holder said: “Darcy has come a long way – he has made big improvements. He is still his normal self and is still joking around.

“I take my hat off to his girlfriend Lizzie because she’s doing an awesome job. She’s taken to it like a duck to water so full credit to her.”

Poole skipper Davey Watt, who like Middleditch and Holder rushed to Ward’s side following last summer’s crash, added: “Darcy is dealing with this far better than we could have imagined he could.”

More than £4,000 was raised for Ward at the fundraising night organised by the Riders' Equipment Fund.