Collingwood may have achieved the ultimate glory in 2023 but their fans still felt hard done by after Lachie Neale adorned the front cover of the 2024 AFL Season Guide.

The yearly publication is a staple fixture providing a recap of the year that was and providing updates for the 2024 season with detailed stats, player profiles and draft picks.

It has effectively been the footy bible for the past 25 years.

But Collingwood fans have been left seething after seeing Brisbane superstar and Brownlow Medal winner Lachie Neale on the front cover instead of one of their own messiahs.

“Why is a LOSER on the cover, Pies won the FLAG and should be on the front. AFL you’ve lost a loyal fan,” one X (formerly twitter) user posted.

“Runners up edition: When does the premiership edition come out?” another said.

However, what the black and white army failed to grasp is the AFL Record has always put the previous season’s Brownlow medallist on the front cover, not the premiers, a point which was quickly raised by other supporters.

“Every year the cover is the Brownlow medallist yet this year the so-called “Collingwood elite brigade” are out and about. Honestly,” one user replied.

“Yikes.. the comments on this are embarrassing.. surprisingly all from one club’s fanbase. The Brownlow Medal winner has been on the cover for over 25 years. Get a grip,” another said.

“The melts from Collingwood supporters is funny. They probably forgot that Buckley and Swan featured on the cover when they won the Brownlow and played in losing Grand Finals just like Lachie.”

However, the words from other fan bases appear to be falling on deaf ears with many Collingwood supporters already feeling Neale was not a deserving Brownlow winner.

New AFL Record editor Ashley Browne weighed in and delivered a message to the disgruntled Pies fans.

“To all the Collingwood fans having a meltdown, the Brownlow medallist always features on the cover. Plenty of great Magpies content once you turn the page,” he posted.