Sidelined St George Illawarra star Jack de Belin has abandoned his Federal Court appeal over the NRL’s contentious stand-down policy.

The appeal by the 28-year-old, who has pleaded not guilty to raping a woman in December, was due to begin in the Federal Court on Thursday.

But his barrister Arthur Moses SC told the judges the parties had reached an agreement and the appeal would be discontinued, after a judge on Monday set de Belin’s rape trial down for March – before the start of the 2020 NRL season.

-AAP