Innes' move to Australia to play for new ARL outfit, the Western Reds in the 1995 season brought threats of legal action from Leeds.
[5] He returned to England to make the last of his 135 appearances for Leeds before leaving the club in 1996, shortly before the start of the inaugural Super League season.
The world side included high-profile British Test players Gary Connolly and Jason Robinson who had signed contracts promising to eventually join an ARL club.
Innes' club, the Sea Eagles were minor premiers in the 1997 ARL season, and reached the grand final, in which he scored a try, but it was not enough to defeat Newcastle.
At the end of the 1997 season, Innes returned to New Zealand to play out the rest of his football career in the Super 12 rugby union competition for the Auckland Blues.