Until Isaac Luke's shock decision to seek a release from the remaining two years of his contract to join the Warriors, McInnes admits he was looking elsewhere and had been strongly linked to St George Illawara, but after losing the New Zealand Test hooker the Rabbitohs quickly moved to re-sign him until the end of the 2017 season.

For McInnes, being able to stay at Souths was the outcome he had hoped for, but he was also disappointed that the player he considered a mentor – and who had even phoned him during the 2013 World Cup in England – was leaving.

"Ever since I came through the Under 20s Issac has been helping me out so it has probably been three or four years now," McInnes said. "We have become real close so the fact he is leaving is bittersweet for me because without him maybe I wouldn't be as far down the track as I am now."

While there has been speculation that Luke's departure was the reason for him being benched the last two matches against the Dragons and Melbourne, the truth is that Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire had made the decision to do so before he sought a release in the belief that the Kiwi star's impact was being blunted by the defensive work he was doing in the early exchanges.

Luke has again been named on the bench for Friday night's match against Parramatta at ANZ Stadium, with McInnes to start.

Maguire was unhappy with Luke's performance in the 30-22 loss to Canberra before the ANZAC Test and after spending a week in camp with the Kiwis the 27-year-old finally chose to seek the return to New Zealand that he had discussing with his family for some time.

With money to spend on a big-name signing after missing out on Kieran Foran and Jason Taumalolo​, Warriors chief executive Jim Doyle flew to Sydney to secure the deal as soon as the Rabbitohs agreed that Luke could leave at the end of the season.

McInnes insists he had not already agreed to join St George Illawarra but says that Luke's departure helped decide his future and he couldn't be happier than to be remaining with Souths after coming through the club's junior grades with team-mates Dylan Walker, Alex Johnston and Aaron Gray.

"I had spoken to clubs and the Dragons were one of them but I hadn't gone as far down the road as having made a decision," McInnes said. "When it was announced that Issac was going the club was keen to lock me up and I was more than happy to re-sign. I would love to be that one club player and play at Souths for my whole career.

"I have grown up around here, I live 10 minutes from training and I have actually played with Dylan Walker, Aaron Gray and AJ since we were all 13 or 14 in the junior rep teams so it is pretty surreal to be playing on the big stage now with them all."

Starting out as a five-eighth for Botany Rams, McInnes initially switched to hooker in Souths' junior representative teams because Walker played the same position for Mascot Jets but it is a move he is glad to have made.

After making his NRL debut in last year's round five clash with St George Illawarra, when Luke was sidelined with an injury, McInnes went on to captain the Junior Kangaroos at the end of the season and has been tipped for a bright future with Souths.

In the meantime, he is looking forward to working with Luke for the rest of the season and trying to learn as much as possible from the Kiwis star.

"Madge [Maguire] obviously bases his team around defence and there is a few issues he spoke to us about," McInnes said. "It wasn't so much to do with Issac, it is more about me starting the game and then Issac coming on.

"He is probably the best dummy half runner in the game and against the Dragons that worked well, Madge is always trying things and looking at new ways to get the team going forward."