Players, supporters and family formed a guard of honour as the captain, flanked by his children Austin and Anna, led the first grade side onto their home ground on Saturday.

There was a roar of appreciation for the club life member, who's currently vice president of the rugby club and has also served as president.

The NSW Wallabies even sent a congratulatory video message, shared on social media.

"I was pretty surprised by the reaction," a humble Hubbard reflected on Monday.

He's been with the Platypi since the Under 17s, playing his first senior games with third grade in 1997.

1998 saw him take the field with first grade for the first time, and he's been a fixture of the club ever since.

He just keeps turning up, he says humbly, but long-time coach Phil Prior acknowledges it's "remarkable" to turn up for 400 senior games of contact rugby.

Prior says it's hard to capture in a few words just what Hubbard brings to the club and the side.

At training he's an inspiration, on the field he's fiercely competitive but "a good loser, as we all have to be", and through it all he's a leader. His positive energy and work ethic are contagious.

"I've been very, very lucky to be with Hubbo through the good and the bad," Prior said, the premiership victories and the tragedy of losing teammates in the Bali bombings.

Hubbard too reflected on the richness that rugby has brought to his life: it's a tight-knit family through all seasons.

Unfortunately, the Platypi couldn't secure the win on Saturday.

Leading 18-5 at half-time, they had made a strong start but Bathurst Bulldogs fought back to claim an unlikely 24-18 win.

It was a tough day on field for the Platypi across all four grades, and Hubbard and Prior both bemoaned the first grade side's lapses in the second half.

They won't be dwelling on it though, they're looking to regroup at training this week before hitting the road to Dubbo on the weekend.

Milestone match or not, Hubbard will be lacing up his boots again next Saturday with plans to turn things around.