Young after winning the minor premiership slipped to a 28-12 loss to Gundagai in last week's major semi-final, leaving the Cherrypickers one last chance in Sunday's preliminary final against Southcity.

Smith expects Young to improve on last week's performance.

"Semi-final footy is a different brand of footy and I'm sure they'll be better for the run. It was a learning curve and there were some good signs," Greg Smith said.

Young has beaten Southcity Bulls twice during the regular season, but Smith concedes both wins weren't comprehensive.

He says a focus will be on winning the arm wrestle in the middle of the park in an effort to provide as much opportunity as possible for Young's slick backline.

"If our middle can get over Southcity I'm confident our backline can do the job. We have a lot points in us. We're really keen to get the job done and get into a grand final. We've been the best side all year," Smith added.

The match is set to begin at 1.10pm on Sunday at Wagga's Harris Park.

Young: 1 Jake Veney, 2 Damian Slater, 3 Jacob Hardy, 4 Trent Veney, 5 Joshua Reynolds, 6 Matt Murray, 7 Nick Bush, 8 Stewart James, 9 Sam Norton, 10 Harry Nowlan, 11 Will Manwaring, 12 Casey Wall, 13 Gus Smith.

READ ALSO: Lions let lead slip in elimination final

READ ALSO: Sargent's not giving up title hopes