Having missed out in 2019 due to suspension, Young's determined to have a big finals campaign and he's relishing playing against the Sydney Roosters at the SCG on Friday in what will be the biggest of his 28-game career.

Young was excellent in his first NRL final - the Green Machine's 32-20 victory over the Cronulla Sharks in the elimination final on Saturday.

He ran for 110 metres, made one linebreak - which led to Raiders halfback George Williams' second try - and made two tackle busts and 26 tackles in his 48 minutes of work off the bench.

The 22-year-old has more than found his feet in the NRL and has shown enough to suggest he could play a key role in Canberra's finals campaign.

And even though Young missed last year's controversial decider the pain from it is still driving him.

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"Yeah definitely, 12 months ago I was in a different situation to what I am now," he said.

"Very grateful that the club stuck by me and [Raiders coach Ricky Stuart] stuck by me.

"I'm getting a lot of minutes now and I'm happy with that, and I just want to roll into next week now.

"To miss last year's finals series I'll put my hand up and have a big finals series this year.

"They're the games that you want to play in, the big games. Obviously what happened last year is last year and this is this year.

"We're a different team this year, I think we're a better team so I'm looking forward to next week."

Young was unsure why their second halves were so much more dominant than their first, but felt their ability to finish strongly showed their character.

"I don't think it's a big thing either, it's probably more of an attitude thing to make sure we start well and we're confident we can win the games in the second half," Young said.

NRL SEMI-FINAL

Canberra Raiders v Sydney Roosters at the SCG, likely to be Friday 7.50pm.