Has an AFL game ever ended 42-38?
Yes. AFL has seen a final score of 42-38 3 times. It first happened on May 20, 1899, when Fitzroy beat Sydney, and most recently on May 8, 1926, when Hawthorn beat North Melbourne.
That makes 42-38 the 1599th most common final score out of 6,649 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 43-38 has happened 3 times and 42-39 has happened 2 times.