RICHMOND coach Terry Wallace say he understands why the AFL has brought in the new interchange rules, but warns clubs will have to improve their processes for dealing with the new system.

The AFL brought the new rules in after the Sydney Swans were fined $50,000 ($25,000 suspended) for having 19 men on the field in its round-seven clash with North Melbourne, but Wallace said that while this week was just a trial, next weekend could see a rash of penalties if clubs didn't get their act together.

"The interchange [system] was interesting – we would have thought that from the two sides, there would have been five goals in the first half given against both sides," he said.

"We've all got to do it better, because I think it'll be pretty ugly for the game if the game needs to get stopped five times and the ball is taken off one side and given to the other side and we're getting five goals kicked from interchange decisions.

"I don't think anyone will particularly like that, so we've all got a responsibility to do it better.

"I think both sides probably did it better in the second half than they did it in the first half."