Suspended NRL player Jack de Belin has launched defamation proceedings against The Daily Telegraph over a front-page story, cartoon and tweet he says imply he is a rapist and a "despicable person".

In documents filed in the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday, lawyers for de Belin seek damages, including aggravated damages, and legal costs for a story published on February 21 last year and headlined "Rub Out the Grubs: League Immortal draws line in sand on NRL shame."

Jack de Belin outside Wollongong District Court earlier this month. Kate Geraghty

The front-page story featured an interview with Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga and reported the former footballer "wants the NRL to bench stars charged by police during the code's summer of shame until their cases are heard by courts".

"Meninga told The Daily Telegraph yesterday accused rapist Jack de Belin should be suspended immediately while he contests a rape charge and the NRL had to act on violence against women," the report said.

De Belin is also suing over a related tweet which linked to the story and said: "Kangaroos coach says NRL bad boys should be stood down from playing."

Lawyers for de Belin say the story and tweet defamed the suspended NRL player by suggesting he is "a rapist" and a "despicable person in that he raped a woman".

They say the same allegations were conveyed by the front page in combination with a cartoon on page 23 of the newspaper, which featured Meninga grabbing the throat of a man who is wearing a football jersey with the word "creep" printed across the chest. The man in the jersey is in turn grabbing the throat of a woman.

De Belin's lawyers say the front page, in combination with the full reports on pages four and five, also defamed him by suggesting that de Belin "so conducted himself by raping a woman that he deserved to miss out on being picked for the Australian rugby league team".

In May last year de Belin lost a Federal Court challenge to the Australian Rugby League Commission's no-fault stand-down rule, which sidelines players facing serious criminal charges until their cases are heard.

The Telegraph report, which referred to de Belin as an "accused rapist", was published before the suspension was announced.

De Belin and Shellharbour Sharks player Callan Sinclair were charged in December 2018 with the aggravated sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman in a Wollongong apartment on December 9.

The men have pleaded not guilty to the charges and were initially expected to face a two-week jury trial starting on February 3.

On February 13 Wollongong District Court Judge Andrew Haesler adjourned pre-trial proceedings until April 8 to allow a witness, whose identity has been suppressed, to recover from an illness before giving evidence.

Judge Haesler has now foreshadowed that District Court scheduling issues may mean the trial will not begin before August.

De Belin's lawyers are also seeking an order that the story and tweet be "permanently removed" from the internet.

They seek aggravated damages on a range of bases, including that the Telegraph did not seek a response from de Belin prior to publication and allegedly presented the material in an "over-sensationalised manner noting the language, tone and production style", which indicated an "intent to injure" him.

The case has been assigned to Justice Anna Katzmann and the parties are due to appear in court for the first of a series of preliminary hearings on March 30.