Has an AFL game ever ended 59-53?
It has. 59-53 has been a AFL final 3 times in 16,622 games. The first was Hawthorn beat Sydney on May 5, 1956; the latest was Fitzroy beat Carlton on July 5, 1986.
That makes 59-53 the 1534th most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 60-53 has happened 5 times and 59-54 has happened 6 times.