The Cats missed out on the finals after a tough 43-goal loss to Elmore on Saturday.
LBU needed to cause an almighty upset against second-placed Elmore to have a chance of finishing in the Heathcote District League’s top five, but its finals hopes instead came to an end as it fell to the Bloods 77-34.
It was a wild end to the HDNL season. Heading into the final round, three teams could have finished in fifth spot — Huntly, Leitchville-Gunbower and LBU.
Trailing Huntly by a game, only a win would have been enough for the Cats or Bombers to climb above the Hawks in the race for the top five, but LBU lost to Elmore and Leitchville-Gunbower fell to Heathcote, leaving Huntly returning to the finals after missing out last season.
The loss also meant the Cats slid down to seventh on the ladder, with Heathcote finishing sixth and the Bombers eighth.
Despite the disappointment of missing out on finals for the fifth season in a row, it was still a successful season for a Cats team that saw massive improvement from its form in previous campaigns.
LBU had finished on the bottom of the ladder in back-to-back seasoms, with the Cats going winless in 2021.
But this year they improved greatly as they picked up five wins, more victories than they had earned in the previous three seasons combined.
Their seventh-placed finish is their highest result since 2017, when they also finished seventh.
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