Helensburgh coach Paul Michlmayr has put another key piece into his 2024 jigsaw puzzle, with captain Vaughan Patterson inking a fresh deal to stay with the Premier League club. The Thistle on Wednesday night revealed that they had re-signed Patterson for next season, which will mark his third campaign with the club since moving over from fellow IPL outfit Port Kembla. Michlmayr told the Mercury that Patterson was an "integral" signing as the Thistle begin to ramp up preparations for the 2024 season. "He's obviously the leader of the team and one of our more experienced players in a youngish squad. His leadership qualities are of massive importance to us," he said. "Vaughan is also fairly flexible, he can play in the midfield - he's been there for a while now - but he can also play at centre-back if we need him. So he's a flexible player whose experience can let him play anywhere." The announcement comes on the back of Burgh re-signing a crop of talent as they look to improve on their mid-table finish in 2023 under new mentor Michlymayr, who signed with the club in September. Leading that list of players staying are goalkeeper Jordan Paull, Blake Hewson, Caleb Browne, Cody Cuthbertson and Ethan Lehn. They have also snared Harry James from Football NSW League One club, Macarthur Rams. "I've said from the start that the squad from this year achieved fairly well, other than converting a few draws into wins," Michlmayr said. "We're backing that extra year of maturity and that extra year of hunger from just falling short (of finals) will serve us well. And we go fairly deep with quality, so we're fairly happy with the squad as it is." Meanwhile, just hours after the Patterson re-signing was announced, fellow IPL club Cringila unveiled the signature of experienced talent Justin Ivanovic for the 2024 season. Ivanovic has played for a host of NPL NSW clubs, including the Wollongong Wolves. "Justin is an established defender plying his trade within the NPL for the majority of his playing career, and will add depth and experience to our team," the club wrote in a statement.