Has an AFL game ever ended 173-96?
Exactly once. On June 30, 2007, Fremantle beat Carlton 173-96, and no AFL game before or since has ended that way. When it happened it was a scorigami, the first 173-96 in league history.
That makes 173-96 the 3836th most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 174-96 has happened never and 173-97 has happened never.