Now an unexpected gesture plays into this call on a community front.

About 1800 of the youngest Ballarat Football Netball League registered footballers will receive a pair of shoes (footy boots or runners) from one of the giants in high-quality footwear for sports.

And the Bulldogs brought their 2016 AFL premiership captain to help deliver the first supply to City Oval this week.

Is this a great marketing exercise? Absolutely, the AFL season is underway and the Bulldogs have a match in town this weekend.

But this is also an important investment in the grassroots game - for girls and boys - and an incredibly timely move for cash-strapped families.

Victorian families tend to spend more per child on sport than families in most other states. The latest Australian Sports Commission data shows the annual median spend on a Victorian child is $730 - and these figures were released a year ago while interest rates were still on the climb.

High-quality sports shoes are typically not cheap but are an essential to help give children the best in the game and enjoying their sport. The other problem, of course, is that most children's feet grow fast.

The Bulldogs' greatest investment in Ballarat has been in the community.

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Mars Stadium is incredible and having AFL premiership season matches locked in each season has undeniable benefits for the city's tourism and sporting development.

Community programs for men's and women's health, children's literacy, youth leadership and Koori engagement are Bulldog investments we might talk about a lot, but these are making an immeasurable positive difference in this city.

The shoe windfall could offer this, too - and while the Bulldogs could have taken the haul anywhere, they chose to brighten up Ballarat.

Easton Wood hoped the gift would give young Ballarat players something extra to look forward to with the opening bounce for juniors just around the corner.

The retired Bulldogs' skipper grew up in Camperdown and "lived" in his footy boots, especially in school holidays.

Good new boots can make you want to get out and have a kick more.

They can make you feel like a bit of a superstar on the field - especially if you are wearing similar kicks to your sporting heroes. (Take this from an enthusiastic, yet far from a star tennis player who used to want to hit a ball more often when sporting a Wilson tennis racquet, just like her hero Steffi Graf).

This is not to suggest basketball parents have to invest in the latest Nike Le Brons, only that BFNL youngsters might get a little kick from wearing ASICS just like the Bulldogs.

You might argue this is entrenched consumerism, but if it helps to drive sustained sporting participation among young people this is not a completely negative side effect.

Importantly, the Bulldogs boot bonanza can help take access to the game a step further, financially and metaphorically.

Wood was rapt to be presenting girls with boots at City Oval.

He has a four-year-old daughter who can qualify for father-daughter at the Bulldogs but has yet to show any signs of interest in the game. She is also a bit young for Auskick sessions.

"It's just lovely that she will grow up in a world where the pathway is there," Wood said.

The pandemic has been a heavy blow to many sports but the rise in girls' football continues to boom on a fast-expanding playing field in choice for females.

It only seems fitting for the Bulldogs and the BFNL to make lacing up a little easier for girls in the game too.

Now we can look forward to where these boots might take our game next.