Early career Utai was a
Berala Bears junior and came through the development squads at the
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. In 2000, he started the year in Jersey Flegg, but his form warranted promotion to the Reserve Grade side and he played in 16 matches including scoring two tries in the Grand Final victory.
Canterbury- Bankstown Bulldogs Making his
NRL debut in
2002 NRL season, he scored 13 tries in 21 appearances and played in only 2 losses all year. However, the club did not play in the semis because of
salary cap breaches. He was named the
Dally M Rookie of the Year. In 2003, he scored 21 tries in 27 games, including scoring triples in three consecutive games. Near the end of 2004, Utai scored 11 tries in the space of 7 games. He was a member of Canterbury's Premiership-winning team, playing in the
2004 NRL grand final on the wing in their 16–13 victory over the
Sydney Roosters, scoring two tries in the match. In a 2006 match, Utai became the first player
that season to be sent off, for a swinging arm on the
Wests Tigers'
Stuart Flanagan. He was suspended for five weeks. He played in the club's 2006 preliminary final defeat against the
Brisbane Broncos where he scored a try in a 37–20 loss. At halftime, Canterbury had led the match 20–6. In the
2007 NRL season, Utai missed nearly the entire year through injury, but returned in 2008 and made 12 appearances as Canterbury endured a horror year on and off the field which included star player
Sonny Bill Williams walking out on the club midway through the season. Canterbury would finish last in 2008 after winning five games all year. In 2009, Utai spent most of the season playing for the Bankstown City side in the
NSW Cup. He became the only Canterbury-Bankstown player to win five premierships across all grades when Bankstown City won the grand final that year. Instead Utai joined NSW Country Rugby League Club, Young in Group 9. Utai was then released from Young and joined the Auburn Warriors. He would have signed with the
Wests Tigers but Welsh Super League club Crusaders demanded a compensation fee of $130,00.
Wests Tigers Utai joined the
Wests Tigers in 2011, making his first appearance in the first round of the season. He was a regular on the wing throughout the season, and was re-signed for 2012, and signed a one-year extension in October 2012.
Auburn Warriors In 2017, Utai signed on with the
Auburn Warriors in the Ron Massey cup. On 24 September, he scored the only try for Auburn in their
Ron Massey Cup grand final defeat by The
Wentworthville Magpies. == Representative career==