Has an AFL game ever ended 38-36?
It has. 38-36 has been a AFL final 4 times in 16,622 games. The first was Sydney beat Carlton on October 2, 1909; the latest was Richmond beat Collingwood on July 31, 1920.
That makes 38-36 the 947th most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 39-36 has happened 3 times and 38-37 has happened never. Nearly all of its occurrences fall between 1890 and 1919.