Has an AFL game ever ended 42-39?
It has. 42-39 has been a AFL final 2 times in 16,622 games. The first was St Kilda beat Geelong on June 6, 1908; the latest was Melbourne beat Essendon on October 2, 1926.
That makes 42-39 the 2421st most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 43-39 has happened never and 42-40 has happened never.