Has an AFL game ever ended 43-36?
It has. 43-36 has been a AFL final 3 times in 16,622 games. The first was Essendon beat Sydney on July 12, 1902; the latest was Sydney beat Melbourne on August 7, 1915.
That makes 43-36 the 1534th most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 44-36 has happened 1 times and 43-37 has happened 1 times. Nearly all of its occurrences fall between 1890 and 1919.