Has an AFL game ever ended 174-97?
It has. 174-97 has been a AFL final 2 times in 16,622 games. The first was Geelong beat Essendon on June 27, 1936; the latest was Richmond beat Carlton on April 1, 1978.
That makes 174-97 the 2421st most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 175-97 has happened never and 174-98 has happened never. At one point the score disappeared for 42 years, between 1936 and 1978.