Dude I Played rep level as a half back all through the juniors. I am sure I have a much better idea than you do what it takes to be a half back. Flanagan is a better half back than Averillo. Doesn’t mean his a better player. But a better half back yes. I wouldn’t exactly say Averillo is a body on the line player as you claim. Watch the bloke miss tackles or mis red defensive situations and you will see he is not a body on the line player.
Half backs actually need to crate play for others and talk on the field. Averillo is a quite as a church mouse and has 3 try assists from 13 games in the halves. Playing a half back that can run the ball only wastes a position. You can play a runner of the ball such as Averillo in any other position in the back line. Playing him at half back is just criminal.
<"Half backs actually need to crate play for others"
How often does Flanno do that? Once every solar eclipse?
<"Dude I Played rep level as a half back all through the juniors. I am sure I have a much better idea than you do what it takes to be a half back."
If you were as good as HB as you claim then you would have played in the NRL and we would all know who you are.
<"Playing a half back that can run the ball only wastes a position."
That shows your lack of understanding of HB. What did our greatest ever player do? He was a running HB called Steve Mortimer who scored countless brilliant solo tries or broke the line and set up tries for others.
A real HB must have vision, kicking, passing AND a running game.
Do you know why? Because a HB who doesn't run the ball telegraphs to the opposition what is coming next.
If a HB has acceleration he can score tries from nothing in addition to setting up tries for others, for eg Steve Mortimer, SJ at his peak.
If a HB lacks acceleration he'll instead run to the line to commit defenders, take the hit and put a player through a hole -eg Johns, Thurston.
Why is Avo playing HB despite his flaws? It's because the more experienced Flanno failed miserably as HB.
To finish off you sound like someone who thinks that a HB is a "game manager" who leads the team around the park by passing the ball 5 times and kick on the last on every set.
I don't call that type of "HB" a "game manager", I call him "dead weight".