Police believe Utai was shot outside a home in western Sydney on Tuesday morning by one or more people inside an SUV, which was found burnt out in Wiley Park, a less than ten-minute drive from where the shooting took place.
Police were able to link the burned out vehicle to the shooting at a home in Greenacre, when Utai was believed to be getting into his car to head to work.
Whilst police did not identify Utai by name, they told reporters on Tuesday that a 44-year-old man had suffered gunshot wounds in both his lower leg and upper chest in what they described as a "brazen ambush".
“We believe at this point in time that it is a targeted attack,” NSW Police superintendent Rodney Hartsaid.
“There is no ongoing threat to the community.”
Hart was uncertain if Utai was the intended target of the shooting, reassuring that the 167-gamer was not known to police.
"He has no criminal history ... at this stage, we do believe he may not be involved in any criminal activity."
Utai's Bulldogs teammate Mark O'Meley told The Australian that Utai was "breathing OK" in hospital.
"Everyone has been on the group chat all morning. We just hope he's OK," O'Meley said.
Utai was a Premiership player for the Bulldogs in 2004, starring in their Grand Final success with two tries.
He played 127 games for the Dogs before a second life at the Wests Tigers spanning 40 games from 2011-13.