Has an AFL game ever ended 78-41?
It has. 78-41 has been a AFL final 4 times in 16,622 games. The first was Essendon beat Carlton on May 24, 1897; the latest was Carlton beat Geelong on June 23, 1984.
That makes 78-41 the 947th most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 79-41 has happened 6 times and 78-42 has happened 4 times. At one point the score disappeared for 55 years, between 1897 and 1952.