The ball hitting their trainer ended any chance of Griffith's late rally at Conolly Rugby Complex.
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Three points behind in their clash against Albury, the ball was ruled dead and full-time sounded after striking Dan Bozic.
The 17-14 loss ended the Blacks season, but coach Craig Morriss was pleased with their progress throughout the year.
"Overall I'm disappointed in today but season wise I'm more than happy with the club," Morriss said.
"We had four teams here today.
"We'll go away, have to rebuild for next year, learn from it and move on."
The Blacks failed to make the most of some good scoring opportunities in both halves.
However they cut into Albury 10-0 half-time advantage but couldn't find the match winner in an improved second half.
"We squandered a lot of opportunities, didn't hold the ball long enough to build enough pressure and just took a few wrong options," Morriss said.
"It was the first time in the finals for a long time and it's a different level.
"We didn't quite get to that level."
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