You got it 99% correct, Port. The primary reason for a tail rotor is to counteract the torque of the main rotor. But a tail rotor is merely a variable pitch propellor and thus can generate thrust in either direction depending on how you set the pitch. Propellors can pull ("tractor" props like on most small aeroplanes), but they can push like a fan as well (Beech Starship, Piaggio Avanti, Cessna 337 twin). So too a tail rotor can either be a tractor or a pusher. In reality the tail rotor can be mounted on either side of the tail boom as long as it "blows" the correct way.