Has an AFL game ever ended 52-43?
It has. 52-43 has been a AFL final 2 times in 16,622 games. The first was Carlton beat St Kilda on May 23, 1953; the latest was Melbourne beat Sydney on May 28, 1989.
That makes 52-43 the 2421st most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 53-43 has happened 2 times and 52-44 has happened 1 times. At one point the score disappeared for 36 years, between 1953 and 1989.