Former NRL star, New Zealand, and Samoa international Matt Utai has been hospitalised and is "fighting for his life," per reports, after being shot twice in an early morning incident in Sydney's southwest.

According to multiple reports on Tuesday morning, Utai has been identified as the victim of a shooting, which occurred at around 6am in Greenacre.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported Utai was shot in the chest and leg, with The Daily Telegraph reporting the former NRL star is "fighting for his life".

A NSW Police Statement issued on Tuesday morning said officers attended the scene following reports of a public place shooting and that an investigation has been launched.

Emergency services were also called to the scene.

"Officers attached to Bankstown Police Area Command attended and were told a man had been shot outside a home by the occupants of an SUV before it drove away," the statement read.

"The man - aged 44 - was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics for multiple gunshot wounds before being taken to hospital in a serious condition.

"A short time later police were called to Samuel Street, Wiley Park, following reports of a car fire."

Police later arrived at a car which remained alight in Wiley Park. The incidents are being treated as linked.

A crime scene has been established at both the Greenacre and Wiley Park locations.

Utai played in the NRL for more than a decade and won the 2004 premiership with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.