Has an AFL game ever ended 54-53?
Yes. AFL has seen a final score of 54-53 2 times. It first happened on July 26, 2002, when Essendon beat Richmond, and most recently on June 13, 2020, when Melbourne beat Carlton.
That makes 54-53 the 2421st most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 55-53 has happened 3 times and 54-54 has happened 3 times.