Has an AFL game ever ended 42-41?
Exactly once. On May 17, 1952, Fitzroy beat Hawthorn 42-41, and no AFL game before or since has ended that way. When it happened it was a scorigami, the first 42-41 in league history.
That makes 42-41 the 3836th most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 43-41 has happened 6 times and 42-42 has happened 1 times.