Meet NSW Men's Player ... Robbie!

Men's Player Robbie wearing NSW blue jersey with number 4 on court, sitting in defensive position on right wing.

Hey everyone! 

My name is Robbie Dunia and I am glad to see you have stumbled to my little section. I have been playing the amazing sport of Goalball since 2012... which makes me a bit old... but don’t tell me that. 

To get to my story, we need to get to know each other a little bit. I am one of 6 boys and growing up my older brother who is two years older than me was playing Rugby League with a local club. I would go to training with him to watch and I eventually asked my mum if I could join. She asked the coach and as I wear glasses I was told I would need to play with them off. The coach did suggest if I wear goggles that way when I’m playing so I could still see, but I didn’t want to look different to the other kids so said no. Which then brings me to the lovely sport of Goalball. 

My journey all began at a Blind Sports NSW Multi-Sport Day and I tried Goalball and I fell in love from day one! I was in primary school when I first tried Goalball and after the Multi-Sport Day, I wanted to play again! I was lucky to have Goalball added to my school sports curriculum and had lots of other kids join me (who weren’t vision impaired) which made me feel so included. When I started high school, I joined NSW Goalball. Although I was unsure about starting a new sport at the same time as starting a new school and wanted to adjust to high school life, I ended up joining NSW Goalball in Year 8 (2012). I joined and had my first training camp in Narrabeen which was both amazing and scary being away from my family but also getting to meet some amazing individuals who were also involved in the sport was so fun! 

My high school was supportive of my venture into Goalball as I won many awards for representing my state in our national competition. 

My first ever time representing NSW in 2012 was massive for me because I wasn’t able to play any other team sport because of my low vision. Throughout my time in Goalball, I’ve met other people who have a vision impairment and shared our stories, made lifetime friendships and been able to travel the Australia and the world! I am now a member of the Australian Goalball Men’s Team, The Aussie Storm. I have been representing Australia for many years now and have experienced some pretty amazing things from going to scorching heat of Bahrain to the chilly snow of Lithuania, the advanced technology of Japan to the humidity of Thailand!

One of my proudest moments so far was beating the number #1 team in the world (Brazil) in Germany in March, 2025. What also made this one of my proudest moments is that I was playing against a team full of my idols! You could say I'm just a LITTLE bit of a fan of Brazil. The other part of this game that made me proud was that I had a perfect defensive game, which made me feel amazing to be able to keep up with the world’s number #1 team. I have many more amazing memories that are too difficult to share in writing... so if you see me around, come have a chat and I am happy to share more awesome stories!