I think this article may be overstating the situation a little, but it is promising that the boss of Australia's most powerful Union is positive and wants to see success here in the West.
I don't believe that we should be handed top players on a plate but I do think we need a bigger bag of carrots to be able to lure some of the high profile rookies and league converts away from the Sydney and Brisbane breeding paddocks.
A player like Karmichael Hunt is always going to want to play for his home State to get into the Wallabies if offered the same dollars but if we had a little more financial leverage then his loyalties would certainly be challanged.
I guess the thing that blurs the line a bit is that, after so many more years of development, the Queensland Rugby Union still can't put a Championship worthy team on the paddock. In theory, after such a long history Qld and NSW should have developed almost equally as strong squads with Brumbies a way behind and WA a distant fourth.
In reality, WA should quite realistically be aiming for number three next year and then use it's potential to take on the heavy weights in NSW and ACT from there on.

Force will need ARU assistance

By Bret Harris
March 23, 2006

NEW South Wales Rugby Union chairman Arvid Petersen has urged the Australian Rugby Union to provide assistance to Super 14 expansion team Western Force in its formative years or risk losing a golden opportunity to grow the game in a new market.

Petersen was most impressed with the Force's off-field success when he attended the match against the Waratahs in Perth last Friday.

But Petersen warned that the next three to five years would be a make-or-break period for Force, which has not won a game this season.

He said Force would struggle to build on its off-field success, if the team did not become more competitive on the field.

"We recognise the fabulous opportunity in Western Australia," Petersen said. "But we shouldn't underestimate the task ahead of them.

"We need some strong leadership and incremental investment in the early years until the Force get up and running. Generally, we were highly impressed.

"They've done a great job with their members. They had a good crowd. I've been impressed with their merchandise sales.

"They won't get a second chance at making a good first impression. It was a good selection to put a team there. Western Force chairman Geoff Stooke said the team was seeking recruitment concessions from the ARU, similar to the assistance the AFL gave Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions.

Force would like the ARU to pay additional contract top-ups to Australia Test players in Perth and increase the team's academy funding, which is only 10 per cent of the total.
"If nothing happens, we can plod along in the middle of the road but never become a dominant team in the west," Stooke said.

"We have a core of support but success is important for all teams. That's been demonstrated with the AFL teams. When they are not successful, support dries up in many areas.

"We need a balance between growing our own Wallabies and having a player list that will make us successful. In the short-term we will need some sort of assistance from the ARU."

The Australian