{"id":486037,"date":"2026-02-17T16:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/486037\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T16:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:00:12","slug":"former-nrl-player-in-critical-condition-after-being-shot-in-targeted-drive-by-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/486037\/","title":{"rendered":"Former NRL player in critical condition after being shot in ‘targeted’ drive-by attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

Police say the shooting of former NRL player Matt Utai today was a targeted attack, but are unsure if the ex-premiership winner was the intended target.<\/p>\n

The former \ufeffWests Tigers and Canterbury Bulldogs winger was fighting for life after being hit by two bullets in a drive-by shooting outside his family home on Macquarie Street, Greenacre, in south-western Sydney about 6am.<\/p>\n

A group of men were waiting outside his home as he tried to leave for work.<\/p>\n

\"SYDNEY,Matt Utai in 2004. He has been identified as the victim of the shooting. (Getty)<\/p>\n

Utai, 44, received gunshot wounds to his upper torso and lower legs before the suspected gunmen in a white SUV sped away.<\/p>\n

“We heard the gunshots, like five shots,” a witness said.<\/p>\n

“Me and my mum ran down towards where the shooting was, and we saw the boy lying down on the grass.<\/p>\n

Despite his pain, Utai was able to speak with officers when they arrived at the scene.\ufeff<\/p>\n

He was treated by paramedics before being taken to St George Hospital in a serious condition.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/Utai was was treated at the scene by paramedics for multiple gunshot wounds. (Nine)<\/p>\n

A short time later, police were called to Samuel Street, Wiley Park, where they found an SUV on fire.<\/p>\n

Police believe it is connected to the shooting.<\/p>\n

Superintendent Rod Hart said \ufeffthe attack was a “brazen ambush” as the victim left his home for work.<\/p>\n

“He is known to police, but he has no criminal history,” Hart said.<\/p>\n

“At this stage, we do believe he may not be involved in any criminal activity.”<\/p>\n

Police established crime scenes at Greenacre and Wiley Park.<\/p>\n

“Why this has happened, that will form a major part of the investigation,” Hart said.<\/p>\n

“State Crime Command, the Raptor Strike Squad and Bankstown detectives will do everything that they can to work out exactly why this has happened and who is involved.”<\/p>\n

\"\"\/Iziah Utai. (Nine)<\/p>\n

New Zealand-born Utai joined the Bulldogs in 2002 and was a pivotal member of the club’s 2004 premiership-winning side, scoring two tries in the defeat of the Sydney Roosters.<\/p>\n

He also represented New Zealand, including an appearance in the 2008 World Cup.<\/p>\n

Utai departed the Bulldogs in 2010 and one year later joined the Wests Tigers, playing for the Sydney club until the end of his career in 2013.\ufeff<\/p>\n

Since his retirement, he has worked as a tradie.<\/p>\n

Police are investigating whether Utai’s son Iziah’s alleged links to the Alameddine crime network could have been the reason behind this morning’s shooting.<\/p>\n

9News understands 24-year-old Iziah is currently overseas.<\/p>\n

\ufeffLast year, a Merrylands barbershop allegedly linked to Iziah was firebombed twice.<\/p>\n

In December, a home at Guildford West also allegedly linked to Iziah was sprayed with 30 bullets.<\/p>\n

9News understands Iziah has allegedly been involved in the ongoing feud between the Alameddine network and the newly formed Coconut Cartel.<\/p>\n

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000.<\/p>\n

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Police say the shooting of former NRL player Matt Utai today was a targeted attack, but are unsure…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":486038,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-486037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=486037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486037\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/486038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}