IN SIGNING a three-year contract extension that will keep him at Richmond until the end of 2013, Trent Cotchin has indicated he wants to be a Tiger for life.

Cotchin, who recently purchased a property in Melbourne, had been flagged as a target of the new Gold Coast franchise, but the 19-year-old midfielder has put any speculation to rest with his new deal.

Recruited by Richmond with the No.2 pick in the 2007 NAB AFL Draft, Cotchin said it was important to him that he remained at one club and that his was full of good people.

"I am very, very happy that I am going to stay here," he told richmondfc.com.au.

"One of the things you want to be as an AFL footballer is a one-club player.

"Another factor for me was seeing how much support the club has outside, from members, as well as from people inside the club ... it's just a good place to be.

"I'm really confident we've got the right people in place to eventually achieve sustained success, and that's what we're working towards at the moment."

Cotchin added he was disappointed with the rumour he had signed a confidentiality agreement with Gold Coast to join that club for the 2011 season.

"My plan always was to be with Richmond and stay with the club ... it was just a matter of time until I signed," he said.

"We spoke about it initially before Christmas and agreed that we'd see how the start of the year panned out. But then obviously a bit of pressure came with the media speculation, although it didn't affect my decision or the way we were going about it.

"In the end we decided that it was the right time, and I'm very glad it's happened."

Richmond's next priority is to ensure that Cotchin remains fit for the start of the season.

Achilles and hip problems have restricted him to just 25 games - slightly more than half the available opportunities - in 2008 and 2009.

Last year he didn't appear at senior level until round eight.

The Tigers have carefully managed Cotchin through a modified program that has already allowed him to feature in the pre-season competition.

"I've been running pretty well and I'm feeling pretty fit," he said.

"So I'm just looking forward to getting the next couple of games under my belt and then hopefully hitting round one full of steam with the side.

"Hopefully we can have some wins."

Trent Cotchin is a $296,200 midfielder in this year's Toyota AFL Dream Team.