Has an AFL game ever ended 41-38?
It has. 41-38 has been a AFL final 4 times in 16,622 games. The first was Sydney beat Geelong on August 26, 1899; the latest was St Kilda beat Geelong on August 24, 1907.
That makes 41-38 the 947th most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 42-38 has happened 3 times and 41-39 has happened 5 times. Nearly all of its occurrences fall between 1890 and 1919.