Has an AFL game ever ended 72-53?
Yes. AFL has seen a final score of 72-53 3 times. It first happened on June 12, 1915, when Melbourne beat Essendon, and most recently on August 9, 1958, when Collingwood beat Carlton.
That makes 72-53 the 1534th most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 73-53 has happened 3 times and 72-54 has happened 6 times. At one point the score disappeared for 43 years, between 1915 and 1958.