This Rugby News article was originally published in 2019. 

Sylvan Road will play host to a unique occasion on Saturday as Wests stalwart Hunter Thomas prepares for his 400^th appearance for the club.

It’s been an eventful career for Thomas, dating back to 1989.

Grand Final successes and a constant hatred for Brothers seem to be the key takeaways from a career that while not professional, is still incredibly impressive.

“I started down in my older brothers under-sevens side in 1989 when I was four,” said Thomas.

“But my first game of seniors, we played Brothers at home and I always knew that no matter what club you played for, you hated Brothers. We beat Brothers at home but they went on to go undefeated for the rest of the season and take out the Colts Premiership.

“It was a great start to what has been a fantastic love-hate relationship with many of those boys.”

It’s not very often that Rugby and Al Pacino are mentioned in the same article, but Hunter’s favourite Rugby memory grants an exception.

While Thomas looks back on a number of premierships fondly, he said his best memories are playing alongside his mates at Sylvan Road.

“There’s a couple of Grand Final wins over Brothers that are right up there but in 2011 I was lucky enough to play in Nick Gregorskis final season at the Dogs and in his last ever home game.

“When Gorko went off to speak with the ref I gave the boys a rousing speech akin to Al Pacino’s inches speech in Any Given Sunday.

“I backed up the speech with one of the best individual performances I’ve ever put out on the field and we ended up blowing them off the park to win back the Shaw-Pilecki Cup for the first time since 2006.

“I’ve never felt so robbed of a man of the match performance in my life after they gave it to Nick. But to send off a club legend and a good mate in that fashion was very special.”

But this season is the year that nearly wasn’t.

Last season was supposed to be Thomas’s final season in the green and gold, but after considering retirement for about “five minutes”, Thomas decided that he wasn’t ready to leave the game just yet.

“As you get older you look at every game as if it could be your last. So every time I run out on the field it’s like a gift from God.

“This year was supposed to be my last but as long as the body holds up I dare say I’ll be running around in some capacity.”

But while a return to the Bulldogs seems likely, Hunter didn’t rule out a call-up for this year’s Rugby World Cup.

On top of his wealth of experience, Hunter was confident that his “good form” could benefit the Wallabies as they look to bring the Webb Ellis Cup back to Australia for the first time since 1999.

“Even if it was just for team morale or boat races, I’m sure I’d pull my weight.”

While an unlikely call-up remains to be seen, what is more immediate is his 400^th against Bond on Saturday.

This Rugby News article was originally published in 2019.