17-year-old Illawarra Steelers Tarsha Gale Cup young gun Ella Koster signs NRLW contract with Dragons
Illawarra Steelers young gun Ella Koster has put pen to paper to officially make herself an NRLW player for the 2023 season. Hear from the 17-year-old talent set to make her mark in the big league.
Illawarra Star
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Illawarra Steelers young gun Ella Koster has put pen to paper for a two year deal in the NRLW with the St George Illawarra Dragons.
Koster, captain of the Steelers Tarsha Gale Cup side, has been instrumental to her side’s success this season and her hard work has been rewarded.
The 17-year-old will move straight into pre-season with the Dragons at the conclusion of her Tarsha Gale Cup campaign with the Steelers.
“I’ve known for a while now, I’ve had to keep a secret and not tell any of the girls,” Koster said.
“It was great to be able to tell all my family and friends, they’re all super excited for me.
“It’s not just me, it’s all the girls around me who have worked super hard to make this possible.”
Described by her club as a hard worker and a humble person, Koster is a testament to the strong pathways system between the Illawarra Steelers and the St George Illawarra Dragons, both in the men’s and women’s teams.
The Dragons NRLW side have gone through a major roster change over the off-season, with current Steelers Kezie Apps, Keeley Davis, Taliah Fuimaono and Emma Tonegato all departing the red V to challenge themselves at different clubs in 2023.
As a result it will be a new look Dragons line-up this season, which may include some appearances in the front line for Koster.
While the news is exciting for the young star, she is still firmly focused on Tarsha Gale Cup footy, to which her Steelers side gearing up for the first week of finals.
The Steelers face the Parramatta Eels who shared the spoils with them in a 10-10 draw in round two.
“I think we underestimated them a bit coming off a big win against Penrith in the first round,” Koster said.
“Now we know what their strengths and weaknesses are.
“We’ll be focused on ourselves and our own game plan, we’ve got a really good group of girls so I think we’ll be just fine.”
Koster started the 2023 Tarsha Gale Cup season in the second row, but more recently moved into prop forward, highlighting her all-round usefulness in the forward pack.
She has three tries to her name this season, the pick of the bunch being a 60 metre solo effort, busting through two defenders before stepping the Penrith fullback to go in for a wonderful try, no doubt gaining the attention of Dragons scouts in the process.
Koster played her junior footy across a number of clubs down the south coast of NSW, including the Shellharbour Sharks, Stingrays of Shellharbour and Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles.
She also proved her cross-code skills for the NSW Waratahs, becoming the youngest Waratah to ever take the field for a Super W match in 2022 at 16 years 7 months and 13 days.
Koster is the first of the current crop of Tarsha Gale Cup Steelers to be offered an NRLW contract for the 2023 season, with the club suggesting there might be a couple more on the horizon that are yet to be announced.
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