Sidelined St George Illawarra Dragons star Jack de Belin has arrived at Wollongong court for the first day of his sexual assault trial.
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De Belin and co-accused, Callan Sinclair, stand accused of raping a young woman inside a North Wollongong unit block during a night out in December 2018.
Both have pleaded not guilty to a total of five charges.
The pair arrived separately at Wollongong courthouse between 9.30am and 9.45am, flanked by their legal teams.
The proceedings are expected to begin with the selecting of the 12-person jury this morning.
Lawyers for both men have previously indicated the trial is expected to last about three weeks.
The pair were due to stand trial in early February however lawyers for both men raised legal complications in the case they said needed to be resolved before a trial could begin.
Lengthy pre-trial arguments coupled with restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of the trial until today.
Details of what has been discussed in the pre-trial legal argument cannot be published for significant legal reasons.
Meanwhile, De Belin remains stood down on full pay under the NRL's controversial 'no-fault stand-down' policy, which has kept him sidelined for two seasons.
De Belin and Sinclair have been on conditional bail since they were charged in December.
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