My Honda Walk Behind Lawn Mower HRR216K9VKA/A appears to have different configurations on the left and right rear wheel dust/debris covers? One side has a large hole (where the axle/pinion gear goes through) that I think a thrust collar fits into while the other side seems to have a smaller hole with no thrust collar?
I'm not familiar with Honda's setup but generally speaking they are there to control axial or end-to-end play. Having one on each end would counter act one another.
I just changed out my rear adjusters and bushings and I did not noticed anything different, but then, I was not looking very closely at each part.
I normally take each side apart and place the parts in order so they go back in the right order. If something gets messed up, I break out the service manual.