Has an AFL game ever ended 48-41?
Yes. AFL has seen a final score of 48-41 4 times. It first happened on June 6, 1903, when Sydney beat Essendon, and most recently on June 21, 1952, when Hawthorn beat St Kilda.
That makes 48-41 the 947th most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 49-41 has happened 3 times and 48-42 has happened 1 times. Nearly all of its occurrences fall between 1890 and 1919. At one point the score disappeared for 44 years, between 1908 and 1952.