State of Origin: Canberra Raiders' Hudson Young opens up on rise to NSW Blues

That seems to be the case for Hudson Young, who credited his girlfriend of two years Kelsea for helping him forge a path to his first NSW Blues jersey.

Young has been in career-best form at the Raiders in recent seasons and on Monday he was finally rewarded with a State of Origin debut.

The back-rower unlocked something special in 2022, and has continued that effort this year, scoring five tries in 11 games, he consistently chalks up big metres and is offloading at a rate that will see him surpass last season's mark in a few rounds.

So what's been the turning point?

"The difference has probably been the way that I've trained and prepared, and my partner has been massive for me as well in getting me away from footy," Young told The Canberra Times from Coogee where the Blues squad assembled on Monday morning.

"When I come into footy now I'm refreshed and willing to learn.

"Also Jack Wighton and Elliott Whitehead have been huge for me in my development with the time and effort they put into me on and off the field."

Young learned of his Origin selection on his way out of Canberra Stadium on Sunday night after the Raiders' heavy loss to Manly.

He'd actually missed a call from Blues coach Brad Fittler before having to ring back and hear the good news.

"I was in shock," Young said.

"You never actually think it's going to happen but to finally get that opportunity is something I'm really excited to do.

"It's a dream come true and something that you want ever since you put on your first rugby league jersey."

For a boy from the small town of Greta, 50 kilometres northwest of Newcastle, this Origin call-up is a moment to savour.

He grew up idolising Maitland's own Blues stalwart Greg Bird and Knights and Blues legend Danny Buderus. Now he's set to join their ranks as an Origin player.

But Young had his fair share of hurdles in rugby league to get to this point.

At just 16 he was banned 18 months for testing positive to a banned substance he consumed in an over-the-counter supplement.

That ended his time in the Newcastle Knights' junior system, and led to a fresh start with the Raiders.

If the sledges of being a drug cheat wore off by the time he made his NRL debut in 2019, Young found himself in more hot water with two eye gouge incidents in his rookie season.

The second incident saw him slapped with an eight-game ban and miss out on Canberra's magical run to the grand final that year, even though there were doubts he had actually gouged Adam Pompey's eye at all.

Young copped his punishment on the chin, and vowed to learn from it.

It's all in the rear-view mirror for the 24-year-old now, and he said he wouldn't change a thing.

"The things that happened early in my career is something that I regret, but I wouldn't change much because it created who I am today and made me a resilient man," Young said.

"It showed me that if you strip it back to hard work and determination that you can achieve anything."

There was speculation before the NSW squad was named that Young was on the selection fringe and maybe he'd only just sneak in as 18th man, despite his electric NRL form.

But Fittler showed faith in Young to name him in the 17.

Now he will feature in game one at Adelaide Oval next Wednesday on the interchange on rugby league's biggest stage.

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"I would have been happy just to be in a squad and be part of it, rubbing shoulders with superstars," Young said.

"I'm most keen to work with the halves and the rest of the spine, like Nathan Cleary.

"Even guys like Latrell Mitchell, they've won multiple competitions and I'll be soaking up everything."

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