As the club prepared for its first hit-out of pre-season against Redlands United on Tuesday night, the speedster revealed he was happy with how far he's come but accepts there is still a long way to go.  

After bursting on to the scene in season three to help revive Roar's flagging season, the youngster built on that platform last season and earned international recognition as a result.  

However, pulling on the green and gold didn't quite go as planned as an A-League Socceroos side crashed 1-0 to Kuwait in their second Asian Cup qualifier.

That led to plenty of questions about the standard of the A-League and Zullo, who rejected the chance of a European switch earlier in pre-season, admits it was a tough experience to swallow.  

"Last season was about establishing myself in the (Roar) side and we came so close to reaching the grand final. I think my third year is about pushing on again and taking my game to a new level," he told au.fourfourtwo.com.  

While confident he can do that, Zullo also knows that it is a foolish footballer who thinks he is the finished article.

"Looking back to the Kuwait (Asian Cup) match that was a reality check for me, a wake up call if you like," he said.  

"You can be happy with your performances but you also know that you have to keep on improving and to add to your game."

While he remains as hungry as ever to represent his country, his immediate focus is brushing off the club cobwebs with Roar.

After a couple of trial matches fell victim to the weather Zullo is looking forward to getting some game time under his belt and a first chance to represent Brisbane rather than Queensland Roar.

He said: "We've been back in training about eight weeks and you want a chance to play some matches.

"Obviously it's a chance for the fans to see Brisbane Roar for the first time and they'll be keen to see how we're progressing."  

Zullo believes Frank Farina's squad is hungry to banish the disappointments of successive preliminary final losses. He said: "The core of the squad has been there for the last couple of years and we've had some good young players coming through as well."