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Seven sin-bins, three concussions and one brutal battle marked the latest chapter in the NRL's oldest feud between South Sydney and the Sydney Roosters.

Souths won an elimination final 30-14 in front of a crowd of 39, 816 at Allianz Stadium on Sunday, ending the Roosters' 2022 hopes in one of the most chaotic games in recent memory.

The Rabbitohs will play Cronulla at Allianz next Saturday but may be counting the cost of one of the most spiteful battles in this bitter old rivalry.

Prop Tom Burgess is unlikely to play against the Sharks next week after an eventful afternoon.

He knocked Roosters captain James Tedesco out of play with a high shot 18 minutes in and got sin-binned for similar shot on Matt Lodge 60 seconds later.

The England international then failed his own head injury assessment when his head was slammed into the ground by Jared Waerea-Hargreaves in the second half which drew criticism from Souths coach Jason Demetriou.

"We are talking about concussions in the game, but if a player wants to hold somebody who is defenceless and slam his head into the ground - where's the responsibility on the player?" Demetriou said.

"It's an ordinary act and I think the game has to come down hard on it."

Winger Taane Milne was sin-binned once in each half - both for high shots - and prop Tevita Tatola spent 10 minutes on the sidelines.

Souths were down to 11 men in the first half with Burgess and Milne off but were able to take a lead of 12-8 into half-time courtesy of tries from Alex Johnston and Latrell Mitchell.

"The reality is that when you go down two men the concentration goes up," Demetriou said. "We came up with some pretty big try-saving tackles."

On the other side of the battle, Tedesco's absence was a costly blow although fill-in winger Joseph Suaalii was impressive in the No.1 role.

Their two first-half tryscorers Angus Crichton and Daniel Tupou were ruled out with a concussion and a groin injury respectively at halftime and it didn't help that lock Victor Radley joined Milne in being sin-binned in each half.

The first of the seven sin-bins - a record in the NRL era - was for a meek punch aimed at Milne after just five minutes.

While referee Ashley Klein was happy to play on, the bunker intervened to send the combative Roosters No.13 to the sin-bin.

Radley got another spell after an altercation with Tatola while Waerea-Hargreaves was sent to cool off after slamming Burgess into the turf in the second half.

"I thought we descended the game (into chaos) - both teams," said Roosters coach Trent Robinson.

"I thought Ashley and the bunker handled the game as they should but I feel like we - both teams - force their hands.

"The tone was set then (when Radley was sin-binned) and then the incidents that were going to be sin-bins was set.

"That's an incident that could've been played on from and that was the start of it (the chaos)."

Robinson had urged the Roosters fans not to boo Mitchell in back-to-back weeks but they continued on Sunday.

The fullback showed some nice touches, even taking the unusual step of kicking on zero tackle to pin the Roosters back in their own end as they hurtled up to smother him.

That became a footnote in a chaotic afternoon with Souths extending their lead after the break through Johnston and Jai Arrow.

Nat Butcher hit back for the Roosters with a well-worked try on the right edge before Isaiah Taas put the result beyond doubt with a jinking run to keep Souths' finals hopes alive.

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Australians will be able to pay their respects for the late Queen Elizabeth II on a national day of mourning after Charles III was officially declared the country's new sovereign.

A one-off public holiday will be extended nationwide for the commemoration on September 22, three days after the funeral of the Queen in London.

Governor-General David Hurley proclaimed Charles III as monarch at a ceremony at Parliament House on Sunday.

Australia's Executive Council, which formally advises the governor-general, earlier met in Canberra to recommend the proclamation.

The governor-general said the council had a weighty responsibility.

"Australia is an unfinished product. It is now entering a new era," Mr Hurley said ahead of the meeting.

"Most Australians have not known a world without Queen Elizabeth II, her passing is the end of an era."

The ceremony began with a procession of the Australian Defence Force followed by a welcome to country.

Following the proclamation, God Save the King was played, with flags raised to full mast.

They will be returned to half mast at dusk until the day after the funeral for the late monarch, which is scheduled for September 19.

An Indigenous spiritual dance preceded a 21-gun salute, which rang out across the capital.

MPs and senators from across the political divide watched the proceedings, while large crowds also gathered outside Parliament House to witness the proclamation, with some attendees waiting for more than an hour.

Gundagai's Colin Lyon travelled more than two hours to Canberra for the event, telling AAP it was important to be there for the historic occasion.

"No doubt the (republic) debate will be revived at some point in the foreseeable future, but you know, now's not the time," he said.

State proclamation ceremonies also took place across the country following the proclamation in Canberra.

A national memorial service for the Queen will be held at Parliament House on September 22 and it will be attended by the governor general, prime minister, premiers and other dignitaries.

"I encourage all Australians, wherever you may be, to take time to pause and reflect on Her Majesty's extraordinary life of service," Mr Albanese said.

The prime minister said there had been an outpouring of grief following the Queen's death.

"Queen Elizabeth was admired for her devotion to duty, for her commitment to the people of the United Kingdom, to the people of the Commonwealth including Australia and indeed to the world," he said.

"Today, we mark formally the new head of state in King Charles III and in the proclamation, the first in my lifetime and the first in a majority of Australians' lifetime, is an historic event."

The prime minister and Mr Hurley will travel to London on Thursday to attend the funeral at Westminster Abbey.

Before then, the Queen's coffin will be driven from Balmoral Castle to Scotland's capital Edinburgh and be flown to London later in the week.

It will remain at Buckingham Palace before being taken to Westminster Hall to lie in state for four days, allowing the public to pay their respects.

Mr Albanese said assistance has been given to representatives from 10 Pacific island nations that have connections with the Commonwealth to travel to London for the funeral.

Since the Queen's death, more than 13,700 condolences have been made online on government websites, while many more people have left floral and other tributes at government houses in Canberra and state capitals.

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A pilot has died after his light plane crashed in bushland in Queensland's north.

The aircraft was overdue to land in Ayr, south of Townsville, on Sunday morning.

After an extensive search through rugged bushland, police located the plane in Shirbourne, 38 kilometres west of Ayr.

The pilot, a 67-year-old Townsville man who was the only occupant of the aircraft, was found dead at the scene.

Police will investigate the circumstances of the crash and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau was notified of the fatal crash but has referred the incident to Recreational Aviation Australia.

RAAus will support Queensland Police with its investigation, the body's chief executive Matt Bouttell said.

"I wish to send our condolences to the family and friends of the deceased pilot," Mr Bouttell told AAP.

"It's early stages but... RAAus has offered our assistance in order to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragic accident."

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has hosed down talk of Australia soon becoming a republic following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Despite the prime minister previously stating he would want Australia to move away from the monarchy, he said it was too soon to have those discussions.

"Now is not a time to talk about our system of government, now is a time for us to pay tribute to the life of Queen Elizabeth," he told the ABC's Insiders program on Sunday.

"That's the system of government that we have, it's one which as Australian prime minister, I have a responsibility to respect."

The comments come as King Charles III was proclaimed as monarch at a ceremony at Parliament House on Sunday by Governor-General David Hurley.

The prime minister brushed off questions about when would be the right time to start having conversations about moving away from the monarch.

"Quite clearly, this is a time of national mourning," Mr Albanese said.

"Even though the Queen was 96 years of age and had lived such a long life, it still came as a shock. I think that says something about the way that the Queen was perceived as a constant in our lives."

Former prime minister John Howard said he had no doubt the Queen was pleased when Australia voted not to become a republic during the 1999 referendum.

Mr Howard, who was prime minister at the time of the national vote, praised the Queen's sense of duty and respect while the referendum campaign took place.

"I have no doubt that she was pleased with the result, but she never sought to influence it. She continued to do her job, again and again," he told the ABC's Insiders program.

Mr Howard also revealed his and the Queen's private secretary shared three draft press statements on potential outcomes of the referendum.

While Australia voted not to become a republic at the time, Mr Howard said the statement in the event of a 'yes' vote would have expressed her love for Australia and desire to see the country succeed.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said any talk of Australia becoming a republic would need to be held at another time.

Mr Dutton has expressed his view that Australia should remain as a constitutional monarchy.

"At the moment we mourn the loss of an incredible world leader, a woman who was obviously an amazing role model to many women, to many female leaders across the world," he told the ABC.

"We need a King as much as we did a Queen, because we have a stability in our system that served us well and I don't believe in disrupting that."

© AAP 2022