Former NRL star Matt Utai is in a “critical condition” after being shot multiple times outside his home in Sydney, Australia.
New South Wales police confirmed Utai, 44, sustained a “gunshot to his lower leg and his shoulder, upper chest area” during a drive-by shooting in south-west Sydney suburb Greenacre.
Superintendent Rodney Hart added a 44-year-old was in a “serious but stable condition” after undergoing surgery.
“This was definitely targeted,” Supt Hart said.
“It’s a brazen ambush. Whether the victim was the intended target or it was somebody that he knows or associates with or is related to will all form part of the investigation.”
Police said shots were fired from a white SUV, which was later found burned out in nearby Wiley Park.
Utai spent seven years of his career with Canterbury Bulldogs and he scored two tries in the 2004 NRL Grand Final when they beat the Sydney Roosters.
He joined Wests Tigers in 2011 and spent two years at the club before his retirement in 2013.
Utai represented both New Zealand and Samoa on the international stage.
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