Has an AFL game ever ended 42-37?
It has. 42-37 has been a AFL final 3 times in 16,622 games. The first was Geelong beat Fitzroy on July 30, 1904; the latest was Carlton beat Melbourne on July 27, 1912.
That makes 42-37 the 1534th most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 43-37 has happened 1 times and 42-38 has happened 3 times. Nearly all of its occurrences fall between 1890 and 1919.