In 2004, any hope of rekindling his international career was over when he was controversially "completely" dropped from his state team, the NSW Waratahs. While he was injured early in that Super 12 season – he still managed to score 62 points from his first six games; placing him ahead of Andrew Mehrtens in the all-time points lead of the Super 12 (now Super Rugby) competition. Yet 'inconsistent performance' was cited as the key reason behind the axing. Others have speculated his age as the reason for Burke's dumping – this is questionable considering NSW simultaneously attempted to 'convert' footballer Andrew Johns from rival code league, despite Johns' and Burke's similar ages. NSW Coach (and former NSW and Australian teammate) Ewen McKenzie's decision to drop Burke drew ire from many in the union fraternity, including Phil Kearns and Simon Poidevin, who accused McKenzie of disloyalty and being shortsighted.