![Port Kembla's Sebastian Tomasiello (left) battles with a Coniston opponent for possession during a Premier League game last year. Picture by Anna Warr Port Kembla's Sebastian Tomasiello (left) battles with a Coniston opponent for possession during a Premier League game last year. Picture by Anna Warr](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/4sZx2UeLhML2LRYLyd2FGM/961e3f81-f2a4-46a4-a6a4-de5b5762f998.jpg/r0_287_5615_3456_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
He made a heck of an impression in his debut Illawarra Premier League campaign, but Sebastian Tomasiello insists he doesn't feel any extra pressure heading into the 2024 season.
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The teenager and his Port Kembla teammates will kick off this year's competition when they face Cringila at Crehan Park on Friday night.
The match will mark Tomasiello's second year in the Premier League, with the 18-year-old looking to build on a breakout 2023 season.
The classy centre-back won the club's player of the year and player's player awards, as he thrived under the guidance of Zebras head coach Stuart Beedie.
"I just played how I normally played, though it's more about the team. I don't focus on my own performance, it's about the team performance," Tomasiello told the Mercury.
"Stuart gave me confidence, he told me to believe in myself and play how I play. He knew that I had the ability, so he gave me the opportunity to play and I kept proving why I should be starting every week."
A Wollongong Wolves junior, Tomasiello was quick to put pen to paper on a new deal in the pre-season, with the likes of Oli Carrasco, Taiga Nakayama and Marco Pennisi also re-signing.
The club's new recruits include experienced Tarrawanna gloveman Adam Rodriguez, former Corrimal player Peter Youssef and ex-Wolves youngster Sam Starcic.
Despite losing some key talent - including former skipper Jordan Nikolovski - Tomasiello believes the Zebras are primed to improve on last year's seventh place finish.
"It's exciting to start the season, it's what we've been pre-season for. I'm ready, the boys are ready, and we've been training hard in pre-season," he said.
"We started pre-season just before Christmas, and really got into it in early January. We're training well, new players and old players are feeling good, and all of the new players are settling in well. We started trial games in February and we've had some good results there.
"We've been pretty happy with our performances. I think we've won all of our pre-season games so we've been doing well."
![Port Kembla head coach Stuart Beedie has been a big supporter of Sebastian Tomasiello. Picture by Anna Warr Port Kembla head coach Stuart Beedie has been a big supporter of Sebastian Tomasiello. Picture by Anna Warr](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/4sZx2UeLhML2LRYLyd2FGM/6eda2246-1750-4be5-b13f-7718e1439fb5.jpg/r0_613_6000_4000_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Standing in Port's way in round one is Cringila, who will start their campaign behind their rivals after being deducted three competition points for fan involvement in a flares incident during last year's Premier League decider.
Tomasiello admits it will be a tough first outing against the Lions.
"Crini is always strong, especially in the last couple of years," he said.
"It's always hard, especially away on a Friday night. We expect them to come out firing."
The IPL's opening round will continue with three games on Saturday and two matches on Sunday.
On Saturday, Wollongong United will host South Coast United at Macedonia Park; Shellharbour tackles Tarrawanna at Barrack Heights Sports Field and Coniston meets Bulli at JJ Kelly Park.
Olympic will face Helensburgh at PCYC and Corrimal will host Albion Park in Sunday's fixtures.