And yet our halves play split.
Sandow on the right, Norman on the left. A lot of the time they are playing second receiver though with Joseph Paulo getting the ball first. Then Hayne can play off both.
Our halves play both split and traditional, depending on the situation and the play. And they also swap sides when they are split. I'd have to watch more closely but I feel like Norman actually plays more right than Sandow. The advantage we have is Hayne; we can play split or traditional halves with the third playmaker (and even fourth, if Sef Paulo isn't being a genius that day) chiming in as well, or we can play traditional "linked" halves with Paulo or Hayne on the other side. And occasionally you'll see a first and second receiver on BOTH sides, eg Paulo and Sandow on one side and Hayne and Norman on the other. We're quite fluid, really.
We attack more out of second receiver, with Norman and Paulo often filling the traditional first receiver role and distributing to Hayne and Sandow as the "split" halves. Which I think is why Sandow has found some form again, tbh. He gets to play whats in front of him a lot more with Norman doing a lot of the boring work. Ultimately though all teams play split halves at times and traditional linked halves at others.
Anyway I think there is still a big difference between halfback and five-eighth. You still have a dominant half and a secondary half in most sides, they just may not be traditionally numbered. Thurston wears 6 but he's really a halfback, for example. But in most sides the controlling player is still the 7, and the 6 is the secondary play maker. It's just the way halves are played that's changed.
