Former Manly-Warringah, Western Reds and All Blacks centre Craig Innes has explained just how long the tentacles of the Super League War really were, revealing how he and many other players were approached in the United Kingdom while he was playing for the Leeds Rhinos.

“I was playing in England right as the Super League exploded in Australia. I was out on a golf course when I got a call. I was told to head to a lawyer’s office in Bradford. They said, ‘The ARL guys are in town’, I thought, ‘Who are the ARL guys?’, but I turned up anyway,” Innes wrote for athletesvoice.com.au.

“I walked into this office thinking I’d be the only one there and there were about 15 guys from different clubs around England standing in the waiting room, looking confused.

“One by one we went into the boardroom and we were told, ‘sign with ARL and this will be in your bank account within the next 10 days. This will be your minimum, then you’ll negotiate with one of the clubs and they’ll top that up.’

“It was head-spinning stuff. And head-spinning money.”

The Dual International spent 1995 at the Reds before crossing the Nullarbor and winning a competition with the Sea Eagles in 1996.