Ex-Haven stand-off Paul Crook will be putting friendships to one side on Sunday when he returns to the Recreation Ground with Oldham.

Crook was a key part of the Haven side which narrowly missed out on promotion from League One last year.

He scored nearly 250 points for the club en route to the play-off final with Barrow, where Haven lost 10-6.

But he'll be in Oldham colours when the new League One campaign gets underway this weekend.

"Carl [Forster, Haven coach] has done a fantastic job since he started, I've got nothing but praise for him," said Crook.

"He's a good friend and a fantastic coach and I wish him well - but not against us.

"It'll be nice to see a few old faces, I really enjoyed my time at the club."

Crook left the club to spend more time with his young family after spending a lot of time travelling to Whitehaven last season.

The St Helens-born player, who spent seven years at Rochdale Hornets, said: "I've got a job to do for Oldham now. I had a similar experience recently when my first game for Oldham was back at Rochdale.

"We've recruited well, kept a lot of players and added a few more so we're looking pretty strong. We'll definitely be challenging, along with Whitehaven and Bradford and a few others."

He praised Haven's squad for 2018, saying: "It looks very, very strong. Carl's obviously recruited well, keeping Dion [Aiye] and Jessie [Joe Parker] has made them stronger."

And Haven captain Marc Shackley believes his team are in a better position than last year.

He said: "We're confident, we've had three tough pre-season games but I think we were good in all of them.

"The scoreline wasn't great against Widnes but we competed well.

"It'll be more competitive than last year, there's no teams like Toronto. We're in a better position, hopefully we'll be up there at the end of the season."

Papua New Guinea stars Dion Aiye and Jessie Joe Parker are both expected back in Whitehaven before Sunday.

Shackley said: "Carl will probably see how they go in training and make a decision. They just give us a boost, they're two big players and good characters."