Has an AFL game ever ended 48-42?
Exactly once. On June 14, 1902, Essendon beat Fitzroy 48-42, and no AFL game before or since has ended that way. When it happened it was a scorigami, the first 48-42 in league history.
That makes 48-42 the 3884th most common final score out of 6,649 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 49-42 has happened 2 times and 48-43 has happened never.