Rookie Dragons forward Ella Koster danced with an Aboriginal performance group before the club’s 2019 Indigenous Round match against the Sharks and now she is set play in the first NRLW Indigenous Round.
Koster, a proud Gweagal and Wiradjuri woman, is one of the game’s emerging leaders and credits her involvement with The Illawarra Flame Trees – a young women’s Aboriginal performance and leadership group – for helping her develop the self-belief and confidence she displays on and off the field.
The recently turned 20-year-old stunned her Indigenous team-mates with an inspiring halftime speech in February’s All Stars match before scoring the winning try in their 20-18 win against Aotearoa Māori.
Ella Koster celebrates her match winning try for the Indigenous All Stars.
©Gregg Porteous/NRL Photos
“I didn’t know that my words could mean so much but for that to still be talked about now, it’s just so special and I’m just so grateful that I got that opportunity,” Koster told NRL.com.
“That week and that game was honestly something so special and nothing like I’ve ever been a part of. I think that definitely changed me and grew me as a player, and with my leadership.”
However, it was no surprise to Dr Jodi Edwards, who has been mentoring Koster and 11 other young Indigenous women on an ongoing basis since their early teens.
A former NSW football representative and weightlifter, whose dream of representing Australia at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney was ended by an ACL injury, Edwards is an Indigenous educator and a founder of The Illawarra Flame Trees.
The purpose of the performance group was to empower the promising young Indigenous girls, including Koster, and help them fulfil their potential by teaching them about their cultural identity through song and dance.
Dragons forward Ella Koster has embraced her Indigenous culture after being involved with an Aboriginal performance group.
©Supplied
“We always knew that Ella had the potential to be a superstar in the sporting arena, but her resilience was knocked down because she didn’t have that cultural strength and ability; because she is fair, because she has blue eyes, the stereotyping and all of those things,” Edwards said.
“We went through the process of connecting Ella with Elders, connecting her with strong Aboriginal people; they learned the stories from the local area and they then created dances and songs from the local area.
“Their reciprocity would be to perform it back to the Elders for approval and then to perform it for the wider community. That is our old-style way of learning.”
Ella Koster and other members of the Illawarra Flame Trees, who performed on the South Coast and Greater Sydney region.
©Supplied
As Koster’s sporting commitments increased, Edwards encouraged her to cut back her involvement with The Illawarra Flame Trees but she continued to mentor the Albion Park junior who in 2022 became the youngest player to represent the Waratahs at Super W level at just 16 years-of-age.
Koster danced or took part in other activities, such as bush tucker walks, when she was able to, including performing before the 2019 Indigenous Round match at WIN Stadium.
“Ella and three other girls did a dance and sang the national anthem in language at the NRL Indigenous Round before the Dragons played,” Edwards said.
“It was against the Sharks, which was good because they are both Dharawal, so it makes it like a bit of a derby.”
The Dragons and Sharks will meet in a double-header on Saturday, which is the first time the NRLW has had an Indigenous Round, although St George Illawarra and Cronulla were among the clubs to wear Indigenous jerseys last year.
“It is so good to see what the NRL is doing for Indigenous people, but especially now to include the girls and to have it over two rounds,” Koster said.
“Last year we at the Dragons had an Indigenous jersey, and so did the Sharks, so I kind of felt a bit bad that the rest of the girls didn’t.”
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Koster said the guidance of Edwards had helped her develop a strong connection with her Indigenous culture that she is now proud to share with the massive audiences that watch the NRL and NRLW.
“As part of The Illawarra Flame Trees, we went to events all around the South Coast and the Greater Sydney region, and that shaped me to be who I am and why I am so proud of my culture, because I got to see and learn my cultural values through that.” Koster said.
“That was run by Aunty Jodi Edwards and she was a massive part of my cultural identity and I guess my growth.
Dr Jodi Edwards doesn’t call herself a teacher, but a learner. She is in flow with the circular motion of knowledge as it is shared and grown between generations. Jodi has contributed significantly to the reawakening and connection of whale stories, and Cultural Ecological… pic.twitter.com/IL2EhG2qhH
— Bush Heritage (@BushHeritageAus) July 7, 2025
“I am so grateful that I grew up learning about it and it’s always been something that is a part of my identity so I’m so happy to now be able to show it on what I see as the greatest sporting stage in the world.”