Huddersfield Giants prop Craig Huby is aiming to learn from bitter experience

That, however, is exactly where Huddersfield Giants find themselves as they contemplate a worrying battle to save their Super League status.

Sunday’s dismal 34-12 Qualifiers opening defeat at Salford Red Devils, after which head coach Rick Stone described some of his players as “mentally fragile”, was a fourth successive defeat for the troubled Fartowners.

If they endure a fifth, at home to Championship part-timers Featherstone Rovers this Sunday, alarm bells will be ringing.

Huddersfield last suffered the drop under Tony Smith in 2001, although he got them straight back up 12 months later.

In Stone, they have recruited another Australian to try and negotiate themselves out of the current mess but he has yet to taste victory in any of his opening three games since flying into the UK.

Furthermore, those who feel Featherstone will be easy-pickings are foolhardy.

Granted, they may have eventually lost 62-6 in their opener against Leeds Rhinos on Saturday but they trailed just 10-6 five minutes before the break and had caused their in-form opponents issues before eventually being outclassed.

They will certainly sense an opportunity to prey on Huddersfield’s current vulnerabilities especially with tactician Jon Sharp in charge.

He replaced Smith as Giants chief in 2004 and took them to a Challenge Cup final two years later before being sacked in 2008 following a poor run of results.

Returning with a victorious Featherstone side would undoubtedly be a feather in his cap.

Someone who knows only too well the ability of Rovers to inflict a shock is Craig Huby, the Huddersfield prop who was in the Castleford Tigers side stunned by their neighbours in the 2012 Challenge Cup.

“That’s the last time I played Fev and it was my comeback game after a year out with a broken leg,” he recalled to The Yorkshire Post.

“We lost and it was an awful, awful day at the office.

“It was one of those you just want to forget – defeat to your local rivals, so much pride and passion on show and bragging rights, too, but just not the result you wanted.

“They’ll come here on Sunday to play and try and knock us off.

“We can’t take it lightly just because they’re a Championship side.

“I played with one or two of them when coming through at Cas. Tim Spears was there in the Academy with me and he’s a solid player who has been around the game a long time while Anthony Thackeray was with me at Cas as was Michael Channing and John Davies.

“They have a lot of good players with Super League quality; we have to focus on them as a Super League team and get the win we need to kick-start us.”

It is imperative they do and Huby, arguably more than anyone, will be desperate to atone.

“I’ve suffered relegation a couple of times,” said the 30-year-old, who went down with Castleford in 2004 and again two years later.

“It’s a bit different now (with the Qualifiers) but whatever it’s not a nice feeling when you know you’re not in the top eight and are now at risk of this. We have to take it a game at a time but we know jobs are on the line.

“Everyone realises that. It’s awful to think we’re in this situation but we are and we put ourselves there. It’s time we all stood up to be counted, had a good look at ourselves in the mirror and start doing the job we’re paid for.”

Huddersfield seek the wins to secure a top-three place in the Middle Eights and avoid the perils of the ‘Million-Pound Game’ – fourth versus fifth for the last Super League place in 2017. Their next four games are against Championship opponents – Batley away follows Featherstone before a home fixture with London Broncos and then a trip to much-fancied Leigh Centurions.

In many ways, that could help their cause before hosting Leeds and finishing off at Hull KR.

But Huby, looking to put an injury-plagued campaign behind him, insisted: “Every game now is crucial. We’ve got a job to do and must listen to what we’re being told, sticking to the gameplan.

“At the moment, we’re not doing that. We’re just going off the cuff and getting punished. There’s too many errors and we must start getting back to doing the small one per centers right.

“There’s obviously a lack of confidence. It’s not been great all year and is still showing.

“We need to get back to basics, regain that and be smarter; we’ve beaten some of the best teams around when we have been there or thereabouts for 80 minutes.”

Huddersfield captain Danny Brough was handed a two-match ban by the Rugby Football League.

The 33-year-old, also fined £300, was found guilty of elbowing Logan Tomkins during the Giants’ Qualifiers defeat to Salford at the AJ Bell Stadium.

Brough will now miss games against Kingstone Press Championship sides Featherstone and Batley as a result.