AFL FANS across Australia will finally be able to watch free-to-air games in high definition.

Channel Seven has confirmed to AFL.com.au the HD simulcasts will begin on Friday night when Patrick Dangerfield returns to Adelaide Oval as the Cats face the Crows.

It's expected all games on Seven will be simulcast in HD from this weekend.

The HD telecasts will be shown on Channel 70, the network's newest channel, which went to air on Tuesday.

For fans in Melbourne and Adelaide, the 7HD channel will simulcast the network's main channel for AFL broadcasts.

For viewers in Perth, Sydney and Brisbane, 7HD will simulcast 7mate, which is the primary home for AFL telecasts in those cities.

The lack of HD telecasts on free-to-air television has been a major bugbear of AFL fans for the past five years.

Foxtel, through Fox Footy and Fox Sports, has provided HD coverage on subscription television throughout the current media rights agreement.