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Daly Cherry-Evans made a statement about how much he wants to wear the number seven jersey at the World Cup by making his Australian Prime Minister's XIII hit-out count with a masterclass opening.

The 33-year-old, captaining the Australian representative team, had a hand in three of the opening four tries in a 64-14 win over a gallant Papua New Guinea at Suncorp Stadium.

The Kumuls outfit was made up of 19 players from the Queensland Cup and one, winger Leon Undupia, from the Digicel Cup in PNG.

The Australians led 30-0 after 24 minutes but took their foot off the pedal.

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga would have been pleased with the displays of key men he will need to fire at the Rugby League World Cup in England next month.

Cherry-Evans had spoken before the game about how he was not giving up his Kangaroos number seven jersey to Penrith playmaker Nathan Cleary without a fight.

He laid on a try for Nat Butcher with a superb pass, then lobbed an inch-perfect bomb and crafty behind-the-line grubber to set up tries for back-rower Angus Crichton and centre Zac Lomax to launch Australia to a 24-0 lead.

"I got everything I needed out of that game," Cherry-Evans said.

"If all goes to plan and the (World Cup) squad gets named I am looking forward to going over there.

"It would be a special occasion (to captain the Kangaroos) but I am not getting ahead of myself. We are going to put together a really good squad with some strong leaders. Whatever role I play for Australia I will be ready to go."

Prop Tino Fa'asuamaleaui was destructive through the middle, as he was all year for the Gold Coast Titans. Hooker Ben Hunt also had touches of class to make his claim for the hotly contested number nine jersey at the World Cup.

PM's XIII tyro Selwyn Cobbo played centre rather than his usual wing position for the Brisbane Broncos and had an outstanding match in a two-try display.

He handled the positional switch with class and looked a real danger inside winger Josh Addo-Carr, who scored a try and will almost certainly play in his first World Cup.

PNG fullback Edene Gebbie, once signed to South Sydney, was a constant threat for the visitors and scored a nice try on the cusp of half-time to cut Australia's lead to 38-4 at the break.

"For the Pacific Test (earlier in year) we thought his form wasn't ideal but for this game I think he proved what he can do," PNG coach Stanley Tepend said of Gebbie.

"He will be in our World Cup plans and he is a strike weapon for us. We are just happy that he got through the game alright.

The Kumuls dominated the early stages of the second half physically and on the scoreboard, with two early tries as the Kangaroos clocked off.

Meninga sent Cherry-Evans, hooker Ben Hunt and Fa'asuamaleaui back out to provide guidance and leadership and they delivered.

PM's XIII winger Jojo Fifita was one of the best on field, completing a promising season in which he debuted in the NRL for the Titans.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will head to Japan on Monday to attend the state funeral of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

Joining Mr Albanese will be former prime ministers John Howard, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull, all of whom worked with Mr Abe during his two terms in government.

Mr Abe was Japan's longest-serving prime minister, between 2006 to 2007 and then between 2012 to 2020.

He was assassinated in July.

Mr Abe visited Australia five times as prime minister, the last of which was in 2018.

Mr Albanese called Mr Abe "a reassuring figure of certainty" during a condolence motion moved in the Australian parliament in July.

"Our friendship with Japan is one of the central elements of Australia's international relations," he said.

"There is warmth at the heart of our friendship, there is respect and there is trust. Mr Abe embodied them all."

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The NSW premier says the death of a five-year-old boy in floodwaters was "incredibly tragic" while urging people to heed warnings.

Dominic Perrottet said it was another tragedy brought on by the floods NSW had been experiencing for the last two years.

The boy was found dead on Saturday afternoon after a vehicle was swept away by floodwaters at Tullamore, northwest of Parkes in central western NSW.

The boy's parents were reportedly able to remove restraints from two younger children in the car, but weren't able to free the older boy.

"I extend on behalf of everybody across our state, our thoughts and prayers and hearts go out to the family," the premier said on Sunday.

Low and moderate rain is expected across NSW throughout the week but the Bureau of Meteorology warns this might not bring the respite needed.

"Because it is so saturated and all the river systems are at capacity, even a little bit of rainfall could impact or change the flooding conditions," senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said.

The flood impacts were likely to linger for weeks, if not months. There was a low threat of severe thunderstorms but if they did form, they would bring heavier rain.

Low to moderate rain was expected across inland NSW until Wednesday before the weather system is expected to move offshore, bringing moderate rainfalls across the state's coastline through to the weekend.

Two NSW towns are likely to be isolated for days as the flood emergency continues.

State Emergency Service workers performed six rescues and answered 112 calls for help between 6am on Saturday and 6am on Sunday.

The towns of Warren and Wee Waa, in the state's north, are cut off by road and expected to remain that way for days.

Emergency services are using aircraft to delivery water, medicine, food and other supplies to residents.

The town of Gunnedah continues to be impacted by major flooding as of Sunday morning, however water is slowly receding.

The Namoi River peaked at the major flood level of 8.24 metres on Saturday and SES workers were on the ground to assess the damage as it became clear.

Authorities have reinforced safety warnings in the wake of the five-year-old boy's death, renewing calls for people to take the dangers of floodwaters seriously.

SES spokesman Greg Nash saying a river or creek's conditions could change between morning and afternoon.

"We have some very resilient communities and some communities that are very much aware of their flood risk," Mr Nash said on Saturday.

"(However) we want people to drive to the conditions, and if you find a flooded or a damaged road as a result of flooding, to stop, turn around, (and) find another away - it's not worth the risk to push on."

There are concerns more inland catchments could spill over, with many dams already at capacity.

In the 11 days since the flooding began, emergency services fielded more than 820 requests for assistance in NSW, which included nearly 60 flood rescues.

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Parts of inland NSW remain on high alert for flooding despite a short reprieve from heavy rain, as authorities reinforce safety warnings in the wake of a five-year-old boy's death.

Bureau of Meteorology forecasters were on Saturday shifting their focus to early next week, when southern and central inland parts of the state could get "considerable" falls on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"It's a bit early to know exactly how high the flood peaks will get as a result of that rain, but it's definitely something that our hydrology team will be checking out pretty closely over the next day or two," senior meteorologist Jake Phillips said.

"It definitely will exacerbate some of those flood peaks and could send some of them either into prolonged major flooding, or raise them from moderate into major, potentially."

Among places authorities were concerned about on Saturday was Gunnedah, where the Namoi River peaked at the major flood level of 8.24 metres in the morning.

State Emergency Service spokesman Greg Nash said people downstream of places like Gunnedah on the river should keep abreast of the latest flood information.

"It's anticipated that water will move downstream slowly and may isolate some areas," Mr Nash said.

Wee Waa was isolated by road on Saturday, but the emergency service deployed resources to the town.

A five-year-old boy was found dead on Saturday afternoon after a vehicle was swept away by floodwaters at Tullamore, northwest of Parkes, in central western NSW.

The boy's parents were reportedly able to remove restraints from two younger children in the car, but weren't able to free the older boy.

His death has prompted renewed calls for people to take the dangers of floodwaters seriously, with Mr Nash saying a river or creek's conditions could change between morning and afternoon.

"We have some very resilient communities and some communities that are very much aware of their flood risk," he said.

"(However) we want people to drive to the conditions, and if you find a flooded or a damaged road as a result of flooding, to stop, turn around, (and) find another away - it's not worth the risk to push on."

In the 10 days to Saturday, the emergency service had fielded more than 800 requests for assistance in NSW, which included nearly 60 flood rescues.

In the 24 hours to about 5.30pm on Saturday, the emergency service received 120 requests for help and five flood rescues.

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