Has an AFL game ever ended 38-23?
Exactly once. On September 24, 1898, Fitzroy beat Essendon 38-23, and no AFL game before or since has ended that way. When it happened it was a scorigami, the first 38-23 in league history.
That makes 38-23 the 3836th most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 39-23 has happened never and 38-24 has happened never.