Has an AFL game ever ended 97-72?
Yes. AFL has seen a final score of 97-72 5 times. It first happened on May 20, 1922, when Fitzroy beat Geelong, and most recently on July 30, 1966, when Richmond beat Melbourne.
That makes 97-72 the 589th most common final score out of 6,607 that have ever occurred in AFL. One point away, 98-72 has happened 6 times and 97-73 has happened 6 times. Nearly all of its occurrences fall between 1920 and 1949.