And with the Roosters back on the grand final stage against Brisbane, the dynamic halfback is bent on making up for lost time on Sunday after a stunning comeback from a knee injury.
Aiken was forced to sit out the loss to the Broncos in the 2025 decider after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee on the eve of the finals.
It was up to utility Jocelyn Kelleher to fill Aiken's void alongside five-eighth Corban Baxter, and the Roosters maintained an undefeated run to last year's grand final before a 22-18 defeat.
Aiken, who's won premierships with Brisbane (2019, 2020) and the Roosters (2024), vividly recalls the agony of watching the decider loss.
The 27-year-old wasn't alone on the sidelines, with teammate Taina Naividi also tearing an ACL the day before the grand final.
"I think career-wise, that was definitely the hardest part. Missing the finals last year, and then obviously the lengthy rehab as well," Aiken said.
"I was much more nervous watching than I would have been playing.
"On grand final day, I just wanted to be there more for Taina.
"It was probably a bit different because Taina did it the day before.
"In rehab together, it was nice having her there and bouncing off each other when we needed it."
Aiken stood tall in a frantic finale to last week's preliminary final against Canberra, scoring a late try to help the Roosters secure a third straight grand final berth.
The Queensland representative will resume her formidable partnership with Kelleher, with the pair keyed up to spoil retiring Broncos legend Ali Brigginshaw's final game.
And the Roosters have their own retiring pioneers to send off, with Baxter and Millie Elliott calling time.
"There's obviously a lot of respect for Ali," Aiken said.
"I played a lot of footy with her and against her in the last few years, but we've got our own players that are going out as well in Millie and Corban.
"We obviously want to send them out on a high and on top."
Just like last year, the Roosters head into Sunday's clash as the undefeated minor premiers and found some consolation this year after beating the Broncos 34-20 in round seven.
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