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Labor has urged voters to send the NSW premier a message at the ballot box, hoping anger at his government could net them a "historic win" in at least one of four seats up for grabs in by-elections.

Four months after Gladys Berejiklian's sudden resignation prompted three other MPs to follow suit, polling day has finally arrived in Bega, Monaro, Strathfield and Willoughby.

While about 40 per cent of constituents in the electorates have already picked their candidate - voting early or via post - people began turning out to booths saturated with signage on Saturday morning.

The contests are the first electoral test for Liberal Premier Dominic Perrottet and Labor leader Chris Minns, and come a year before all NSW voters heads to the polls in a general election.

Both men were recently elevated to their position and both are painting their parties as the underdogs.

For Mr Perrottet, there is the usual swing against the government in by-elections, the loss of popular and senior MPs, as well as scrutiny of his handling of the surging Omicron wave.

The government is already in minority, and a loss of any further seats would force it to rely more heavily on the votes of independent or minor party MPs.

The stakes are also high for Mr Minns, who has pitched himself as the man to make Labor a real election chance after more than a decade in opposition.

There will be a fierce contest for the seat of Strathfield, which Labor won with a margin of five per cent last election.

But Bridget Sakr - whose 11-year-old daughter died along with three other children when they were hit by a drunk and drugged driver at Oatlands in 2020 - is hopeful she can win it for the Liberals.

Upset over the departure of former Labor leader Jodi McKay, who many feel was treated unfairly by the party, could help carry her over the line.

Former United Nations lawyer Jason Yat-sen Li will try to retain the seat for the Labor, with former prime minister Kevin Rudd previously lending his weight to his campaign.

But Labor is also threatening a Liberal seat.

Bega, on the state's south coast, was held by former transport minister Andrew Constance on 6.9 per cent margin.

Labor has never won the seat, but the party is hopeful local gynaecologist and obstetrician Michael Holland is about to break the drought.

Mr Minns has painted the battle in the electorate as a referendum on the new premier.

"If a conservative candidate is re-elected in this seat, and in the seat of Strathfield, it'll give a green light to all of the policies of Dominic Perrottet," the opposition leader said on Saturday.

"Voters recognise that you can't change the government in a by-election, but you can send a message.

"I think many people want to put a handbrake on the government."

However, he was quick to clarify the by-election results were not necessarily a reflection on his leadership.

"Regardless of the result, there'll be a huge challenge for NSW Labor to get the trust of the voters of this state by March 2023."

Dr Holland - who said his success would be a "historic win" - is running against farmer and former teacher Fiona Kotvojs for the Liberals.

Elsewhere, Nationals candidate Nichole Overall and Labor's pick Bryce Wilson will face off in Monaro - held by the Nationals on a margin of 11.6 per cent - while Tim James is likely to retain Willoughby for the Liberals.

The NSW Electoral Commissioner has warned it could be a month before final results are known, due to the prevalence of postal voting offered to voters as a COVID-safety measure.

Results will begin being reported online after polls close on Saturday night, but final results are not scheduled to be announced until March 11.

© AAP 2022

Johnny Raper will be farewelled in a NSW state funeral, with the premier calling the NRL Immortal one of the "game's greatest characters".

Dominic Perrottet extended the offer to Mr Raper's family in recognition of his contribution to rugby league.

Mr Raper died this week aged 82 after a long battle with dementia.

"On behalf of the people of NSW, I extend my condolences to Mr Raper's wife Caryl and three sons Stuart, Kurt and Aaron Raper, his extended family and friends," the premier said on Friday.

"He gave so much to the sport and to this state," Mr Perrottet said.

"We will all have an opportunity to honour his memory, his talent and his achievements at a state funeral.

"He was respected, much-loved and gave so much to the game inspiring many thousands of players who wanted to play like him.

"Aside from his on-field skills, Mr Raper was also considered one of the game's greatest characters."

He was called "the best of the best" by Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'Landys on Wednesday after news of his death.

Mr Raper, affectionately known as Chook, was born in Camperdown in Sydney's inner west and grew up in a working-class family as one of nine boys.

During his career he won eight premierships and was a star of the national team in the 1960s.

He won the Clive Churchill Medal in 1966 and was named an Immortal in 1981.

© AAP 2022

Australian snowboard star Scotty James has no regrets about leaving the game-changing triple cork out of his Olympic halfpipe run, despite giving up the gold medal to Ayumu Hirano.

The Japanese star, who had won silver at the past two Games, became the first snowboarder to complete a run in competition that included the sport's most difficult trick and it proved the difference between the two.

Hirano, who also competed in the park skateboarding at the Tokyo Olympics, snatched the gold medal with a flawless final run at Genting Snow Park that earned 96.00 to top James's best of 92:50.

American legend and three-time Olympic champion Shaun White was emotional as he ended his career with fourth place, while at the other end of the spectrum, 16-year-old Australian Valentino Guseli took sixth in an impressive Games debut.

Swiss Jan Scherrer won bronze after scoring 87.25 in his second run.

James was unable to execute his third run but felt that if he had, the tricks he planned may have been enough to best Hirano, even without a frontside triple cork.

And the proof was there with James' silver medal run earning more than Hirano's second, which also included the triple, due to its technical superiority.

The 27-year-old, who also won bronze in PyeongChang, said he discussed it with coach James Jackson and given a number of riders, including himself on the first, had fallen midway on the right side of the pipe, decided it was too high risk.

"We've trained the triple cork ... It was in my plan to do it but you can't predict what's going to happen on the day and in that moment it's not a trick to mess around with; the margin for error is none," James said.

"We tried to add another 1260 in the middle to boost my score a little bit more and I came unstuck.

"I was happy with my run, and adding in what we did and executing as well as I would have liked to, I think it would have come very close.

"Whether I would have stood on top or just behind like I did, who knows."

James said he needed to go on to the next Olympics in Cortina, Italy, in four years time to win gold and complete his medal collection.

As much as he wanted gold in Beijing, he insisted he was satisfied with the outcome.

"I'm over the moon with the silver ... I might have looked upset but I'm not upset at all I'm honestly really proud of the result and of being Australian and standing on the podium in a winter sport.

"Aside from my personal accolade I wear that really heavily on my shoulders and I'm really proud of that and I'm proud of standing on the podium and getting silver."

Australia now has three medals at the Beijing Games, equalling its best haul at a Winter Olympics.

Jakara Anthony won gold in the moguls and Tess Coady took bronze in slopestyle.

Australia has won 18 Winter Olympics medals in total - six gold, six silver and six bronze.

White, nicknamed the Flying Tomato and an all-time Winter Olympics great, fell on his last run before retirement.

His 85.00 second run was good enough for fourth and he was emotional as the small crowd gave him a rousing send-off.

"It's hard for me to not get hung up on that last run - I wanted it so badly," the 35-year-old said.

"I'm proud to be here for my final goodbye."

Guseli posted 75.75 and held second spot after the first run and then earned two scores of 79.75.

The NSW country kid said he had achieved his Olympic goal of making the final, and was thrilled to finish sixth.

"It was one of the biggest showings of competitive snowboard ever and it was awesome to be a part of it," Guseli said.

"I'm super happy to have landed my runs."

© AAP 2022