Has an AFL game ever ended 56-41?
It has. 56-41 has been a AFL final 3 times in 16,622 games. The first was Melbourne beat Carlton on August 8, 1903; the latest was Sydney beat Richmond on July 28, 1917.
That makes 56-41 the 1534th most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 57-41 has happened 3 times and 56-42 has happened never. Nearly all of its occurrences fall between 1890 and 1919.