Ellis said, "I am nearly half-way home, it's always good to get out in the bush and get back to where you grew up to play footy, so I am pretty excited."

Ellis will make his Charity Shield debut alongside the likes of Daniel Alvaro, Jack Bird, Poasa Faamausili, Max Feagai, Josh Kerr, Andrew McCullough, Jayden Sullivan, and Cody Ramsey.

"I'm looking forward it, growing up as a kid it was always something you watched during the off season, it always had a big hype and plenty of history," said Ellis.

The Dragons are set to take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs who have held onto the Charity Shield since 2013.

"They have bought a couple of new players, so I am sure they will be looking to put a big one in tomorrow," Ellis said.

"I found out yesterday that it was seven years since we won it, so it would be nice to win it back."

Ellis and his team mates have been involved in the Mudgee community by visiting local schools in the days leading up to Saturday's game.

"Not every place gets an NRL game coming to the town, so there has been a lot of smiles and they seem to enjoy it whether they like footy or not, it's really exciting," Ellis said.

"A lot of the people yesterday thought we were the Mudgee Dragons, but we had to let them know we are an NRL side. A lot of them said they played for the Dragons as well so it's pretty cool. It's good to know that they follow us and feel that connection through the Mudgee Dragons," he added.

The Charity Shield game will kick off at 6:30 pm on Saturday, February 27 at Glen Willow Regional Sports Stadium.