RICHMOND midfielder Trent Cotchin says his body has held up well this year, and he's looking forward to a full pre-season.

Cotchin was taken by the Tigers with pick two in the 2007 NAB AFL Draft, but has been plagued by achilles and other leg injuries ever since.

He has been on a modified training program from the start, and played 15, 10 and 16 games in his first three years at the club.

But he has grown into his body, and says he's hoping to do a full training load over summer for the first time.

"I'll be in contact with the rehab and conditioning guys over the off-season, but I think we'll slowly ramp it up, and hopefully I'll be in a full pre-season this year, rather than a modified program," he said at Punt Rd on Tuesday.

"It's been an okay year, and it was really nice just to get through the pre-season without any downside.

"To play most of the games being fit and available - aside from my report - has been really exciting for me, and it just gives me a lot of faith and confidence going into next year."

Cotchin admitted he had been working hard on his defensive game - after averaging around two tackles a game for the first two years, he has nearly doubled that in 2010.

"Defensive pressure is obviously one of the most important parts of the game now, and that's how you create turnovers and opportunities to score on the other end of it.

"Personally, I've got to improve my defensive game, and that's what I've been working on for this season."