NRL Finals: Brisbane Broncos, Manly Sea Eagles advance to semi finals of Premiership Tournament

THE results are in and only four teams remain in the Premiership Tournament. Who do you think is the best team of the NRL era? VOTE NOW

AND then there were four.

The NRL premiership tournament has been whittled down to four teams after the quarterfinals saw a number of shock results and stunning upsets.

Now that the dust has settled, we’re left with just four teams — the 2003 Panthers, the 1998 Broncos, the 2008 Sea Eagles and the 2000 Broncos.

To recap the results from the quarterfinals:

•The Panthers managed a huge upset over the 2006 Broncos by pulling out 52.65% of the vote. With Brisbane teams polling strongly throughout the tournament, it remains to be seen if Scott Sattler managed to bring out a couple of scything cover tackles in order to stop Bronco fans from voting.

•The 1998 Broncos, who have been strong favourites since the tournament began, had the biggest win of the quarterfinals after sending the 2007 Storm packing with a massive 61.5% of the vote. They’ve always been among the contenders to go all the way, but given the dominance of their victories its hard to see any other team running them down.

•As befitting a match up between Newcastle and Manly, the showdown between the 2008 Sea Eagles and 2001 Knights went right down to the wire, but it was the Sea Eagles who came out on top in the end after securing 54.4% of the vote.

•The possibility of an all-Brisbane final was kept alive after the 2000 Broncos disposed of the 2004 Bulldogs by winning 53.72% of the vote.

On to the semi finals

Four teams remain in the Premiership Tournament.

2003 Penrith Panthers vs. 1998 Brisbane Broncos

2003 Penrith Panthers: 1) Rhys Wesser 2) Luke Lewis 3) Ryan Girdler 4) Paul Whatuira 5) Luke Rooney 6) Preston Campbell 7) Craig Gower 8) Joel Clinton 9) Luke Priddis 10) Martin Lang 11) Joe Galuvao 12) Tony Puletua 13) Scott Sattler 14) Ben Ross 15) Trent Waterhouse 16) Shane Rodney 17) Luke Swain

1998 Brisbane Broncos: 1) Darren Lockyer 14) Michael De Vere 3) Steve Renouf 4) Darren Smith 5) Wendell Sailor 6) Kevin Walters 7) Allan Lnager 8) Shane Webcke 9) Phillip Lee 10) Andrew Gee 11) Gorden Tallis 12) Brad Thorn 13) Tonie Carroll 2) Michael Hancock 15) John Plath 16) Kevin Campion 17) Petero Civoniceva

It’s worth remembering that despite winning the minor premiership, the Panthers remained outsiders all the way through the finals series and were underdogs in the grand final against the Roosters. While they were consistently underrated and only managed one more run at the title (they were knocked out by eventual premiers Canterbury in the preliminary final of 2004 before the team began to break up) this was a tremendously talented and hungry football side.

The speed of Rhys Wesser and the ferocity of the Penrith forward pack is what stands out with this side, but they also had a tremendous kicking game in Craig Gower and a tremendously clever dummy half in Luke Priddis.

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However, the 1998 Broncos were unmatched in terms of star power and attacking ferocity. Not only did they contain the best of the 1992-93 team that won back to back premierships — Allan Langer, Kevin Walters, Wendell Sailor, Andrew Gee, Steve Renouf and John Plath all backed up — they also had the foundation of the 2000 and 2006 title teams. The careers of Darren Lockyer, Shane Webcke, Brad Thorn and Petero Civoniceva were still in their infancy, but they were already proving why they would become some of the greats of the modern era.

While Penrith were an incredibly talented and ferocious outfit, its hard to see anybody topping the blend of old and new possessed by the 1998 Broncos. They just have so many weapons and could punish their opposition in so many ways.

Our tip: Brisbane by 10

2008 Manly Sea Eagles vs. 2000 Brisbane Broncos

2008 Sea Eagles: 1) Brett Stewart 2) Michael Robertson 3) Steven Bell 4) Steve Matai 5) David Williams 6) Jamie Lyon 7) Matt Orford 8) Brent Kite 9) Matt Ballin 10) Josh Perry 11) Anthony Watmough 12) Glen Hall 13) Glenn Stewart 14) Heath L’estrange 15) Mark Bryant 16) Jason King 17) Steve Menzies

2000 Brisbane Broncos: 1) Darren Lockyer 2) Lote Tuqiri 3) Tonie Carroll 4) Michael De Vere 5) Wendell Sailot 6) Ben Ikin 7) Kevin Walters 8) Shane Webcke 9) Luke Priddis 10) Dane Carlaw 11) Gorden Tallis 12) Brad Thorn 13) Kevin Campion 14) Harvey Howard 18) Ashley Harrison 16) Michael Hancock 17) Shaun Berrigan

The 2008 Sea Eagles have been smokies for the title all the way through and have attracted tremendous support in their two victories thus far. They were a terrifically versatile attacking team with Matt Orford, Jamie Lyon, Glenn Stewart and Brett Stewart all acting as attacking playmakers. Throw in the potency of Steve Matai and the perennially underrated Steven Bell and a tough, grinding forward pack and its easy to see why they were one of the better attacking teams of the NRL era.

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Wayne Bennett’s Brisbane teams have generally been known for their attacking flair, but the 2000 Broncos were the most hard-nosed and definitely the toughest. While Darren Lockyer, Kevin Walters and Ben Ikin could still turn it on when need be, this team’s strength was their forward pack, led by Webcke, Gorden Tallis and Brad Thorn. The use of giant wingers Wendell Sailor and Lote Tuqiri as battering rams early in the set only solidified the roll on Brisbane enjoyed in the middle of the field and their vice like defence helped them grind teams into submission.

As a result, these two contrasting styles make for a tantalising match up. Who wins out — the speed and class of the Sea Eagles, or the power and aggression of the Broncos? Could Manly’s dazzling attack poke holes in the dominant Brisbane defensive line? Can a workhorse Manly pack withstand the force of Tallis, Thorn and Webcke? From the look of the line up, the Sea Eagles have a few more points in them and that might just be enough.

Our tip: Sea Eagles by 4