INCREASING junior participation is vital to the success of Central District's junior sides, says Bulldogs development manager Scott Stevens. The Dogs' under-18 side has lost its first four games by an average of 129.5 points this year and is rooted to the foot of the ladder. Stevens said the best youngsters were being exposed to senior football, leaving the junior sides struggling with a lack of depth. "A policy our footy club has is that we push our best kids up to the highest level they can possibly play," Stevens said. If you have a look at the number of kids that actually live in our area, we've got reasonable numbers, but they're not playing sport. He said a higher percentage of boys from other clubs' zones were playing the game. "If you've got more kids to pick from, your top end is going to be better," Stevens said. He was hopeful programs such as North Connect (see side story) would encourage more youngsters to take up the game by improving the club's culture and reputation. "The culture inside a footy club goes a long way to whether or not parents take their kids to that footy club," Stevens said.