Has an AFL game ever ended 54-38?
It has. 54-38 has been a AFL final 3 times in 16,622 games. The first was Carlton beat Fitzroy on September 11, 1915; the latest was Collingwood beat Richmond on July 15, 1961.
That makes 54-38 the 1534th most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 55-38 has happened 2 times and 54-39 has happened 1 times. At one point the score disappeared for 29 years, between 1915 and 1944.