Born on 12 May 1961, in Hamley Bridge, South Australia,[1] Bubner joined the Central District Under 17s in 1977 and represented South Australia in the 1978 Teal Cup.
[2] Making his senior debut for Central District in the 1980 SANFL season as a key defender,[1] Bubner initially struggled to keep his place in the senior side, playing only 11 games in his first two seasons,[3] before flourishing in defence and winning Central District's Best and Fairest in 1983.
Partly due to the SANFL's Player Retention Scheme, which provided extra payments for leading SANFL players,[4] Bubner remained at Central District.
Bubner represented South Australia seven times, including at the 1988 Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival, as well as representing Australia during the 1987 series against Ireland.
In October 1990, Bubner was named in the Adelaide Football Club's initial training squad[5] but instead transferred to Sturt where he played his final two seasons at SANFL level before retiring.