Whitehaven will be part of centenary celebrations at Tilsley Park, Oxford tomorrow – but intend to spoil the party.

Their clash with Oxford will be the 100th competitive game played by their hosts since they came into semi-professional rugby league five years ago.

Whitehaven will be travelling with a strong squad and coach Carl Forster will be ramming home the message about the dangers of complacency.

Dave Allen, with his long-term angle concerns and Kurt Maudling, broken wrist, are the only injury absentees.

June is a big month for Haven with four matches, against two of the lesser-lights from the south, followed by two games against the more traditional rugby league clubs.

Nobody is taking this weekend’s trip to Oxford lightly, as they are just outside the top eight (level on points with Workington and Keighley who are just inside the top half) and on a decent run of form.

After having the honour of being the first team to play Toronto in Canada, where they lost 62-12, Oxford have picked up two decent victories. They beat Hunslet 24-22, a result which cost the Hawks coach James Coyle his job.

That was followed-up by a 38-18 win at South Wales Ironmen to suggest they can challenge for a place in the top eight.

Whitehaven follow-up the trip to Oxfordshire with a home game against Gloucestershire All Golds on June 11. That’s been assigned as Ladies Day by the Whitehaven club.

The match will kick-off at 3pm as Whitehaven revert to the start time they feel has the best chance of pulling in extra fans.

Gloucestershire are actually the fourth team on eight points, and with Oxford, are vying for the honour of becoming the top team from outside traditional rugby league heartlands.

Then on June 18 and June 25 come more familiar names – York City Knights (away) and Doncaster (home), two sides currently chasing Haven in the League One table.

Fourth-placed Doncaster are three points adrift while York, who lie sixth, currently have four points to make up.

That will leave just Keighley (home) and North Wales Crusaders (away) before, what promises to be, a cracking derby clash with Barrow at the Recreation Ground on July 16.

That home clash with Barrow is still a long way off and the possibility of a Cumbrian derby to settle who finishes second in League One.

And Whitehaven know they have to maintain the kind of consistency which has seen them win seven of their eight matches so far.

“There’s a lot of rugby still to be played but it would be a great conclusion to the regulation season if we meet up with Barrow, with both level and contesting second place,” said chairman Tommy Todd.

Todd and the rest of Haven's board are well-pleased with how the team has performed under player-coach Forster over the first half of the season, but know there’s a long way to go.

“I think Carl feels we can still keep improving, which is what the team has to aim for over the next seven games which will take us to the Eights,” added the chairman.

Whitehaven will be travelling with: Aiye, Miller, Calvert, Parker, Taylor, Burns, Crook, Roper, Shackley, Newton, McAvoy, Forster, Olstrom, Tilley, Holliday, Holland, Dalton, Riley, Brown.