He then moved to local rivals Parramatta Power, whom he left in 2000 to join the Premier League club Leeds United.

When Wisła manager Dan Petrescu moved to Romanian top-flight team Unirea Urziceni at the start of the 2008–09 season, the Australian followed.

Burns was in turns praised and criticised for the sportsmanship he showed after the match, following the controversial penalty decision that won Brisbane Roar the championship, and the FFA 'administrative error' which saw the Joe Marston medal incorrectly awarded to Thomas Broich during the on-field presentations.

He earned another cap on 10 September 2008 when he replaced Jason Culina in the starting line-up to face Uzbekistan in a World Cup Qualifier.

Burns won the praise of Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek for filling in for a virus-stricken Culina at the last minute and performing admirably alongside Carl Valeri in defensive midfield in the side's 1–0 win in Tashkent.