Has an AFL game ever ended 59-40?
It has. 59-40 has been a AFL final 2 times in 16,622 games. The first was Carlton beat Richmond on July 28, 1923; the latest was Fitzroy beat Carlton on May 17, 1958.
That makes 59-40 the 2421st most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 60-40 has happened never and 59-41 has happened never. At one point the score disappeared for 35 years, between 1923 and 1958.