This is all true bar the last paragraph, though it's seperate to the points you were making before.
I do think that the marketplace was less competitive when the Force entered it, with less players playing overseas (at least at the peak of their powers) and obviously less Aussie Super team to compete with for players.
The last paragraph is silly speculation. Why? Because of Own the Force? Nothing is proprietary about it.
The sad thing about many Force fans on the forum is I want to back you in and agree with you, but then you go and say something that's either based on nothing or is a lie.
The biggest thing that I believe to have an effect on the Force and this is no dig at you guys or your club at all was the inception of the Rebels.
The force had just gone though all the hoopla of Fire-power and just as they where getting back on their feet along come the Rebels.
The force lost some players like Jones and Inman but the biggest issue was that now players on the east didn't have to come all the way to Perth to ply their trade. They just needed to go to Melbourne which is a more desirable place to live.
That's when the force needed to really focus on grass roots but at the time we had Richard Graham who refused to look at anyone from Perth. For example I remember the Force had a massive injury issue with locks. Richard Graham refused to use Jake Ball who had been in the local comp and was In super form. Instead he flew over Ollie Atkins from Sydney. Atkins was serviceable but was then gone at season ends. Ball., Disenchanted by this signed for a club In Wales before actually play test rugby for Wales. Another one that got away.
Now 5-6 years later we are finally seeing the fruits of peoples labour in the local comp with players like DHP, RHP Hardwick, Koteka, louwrens, Godwin ect but again we are faced with another huge hurdle (the aru) which threatens to jeopardise all the good of the past few years.
And yes I recognise the failures both on and off the field but it's tough to be competative with 1 arm tide behind your back and the other trying to operate in system which by design is meant to be uneven (salary cap) in order to keep the traditional states strong.