Strange as it might seem to those who spent Monday morning raging about Ben Flower on a BBC Radio 5 Live phone-in, reflecting on the Grand Final was not a priority for the cream of the Super League when they gathered at the English Institute of Sport in east Manchester.

They had a light gym session, sorted out some kit and then headed off for a hotel to complete their preparations for the long flight to Brisbane, where England begin their Four Nations campaign against Samoa on Saturday week.

“I drove in this morning with Bubbles [Chris Baron, the Warrington conditioner], and he’s from Wigan so we had a bit of a chat about it then,” said Stefan Ratchford, the Warrington utility back. “But other than that, I’ve hardly heard it mentioned. There was all day Sunday for that.”

Sam Tomkins was a notable exception, but only because as a former Wigan team-mate of Flower’s, and the poster boy of the England squad, he was forced to offer his views in a handful of media interviews. Tomkins was suitably sympathetic towards Lance Hohaia, but also loyal to and supportive of Flower, expressing his hope that among all the warranted criticism for the Welshman’s conduct, thought would also be given for his mental state.

“He’s obviously going to get spoken about and he’ll have to cop the stick, but as a sport we have to look after people like that,” Tomkins said. “It’s tough on him as well, what he’s going through – he’ll never get media attention like this again. He’s a good bloke, not a malicious or dirty person at all – the heat of the moment just got to him, didn’t it? But yeah he’s OK, he’s got a good family around him and they’re all staying with him. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

Tomkins was happier discussing England’s prospects in the Four Nations, their first action since the bitter disappointment of the World Cup semi-final defeat by New Zealand at Wembley last November.

“We’ll remember the pain we felt at full-time,” he said. But the way England competed with, and should really have beaten, the Kiwis that day offers genuine reason for hope this autumn – especially given the number of high-profile withdrawals from the New Zealand and especially Australia squads.

“Very highly,” Tomkins answered when asked how he rated England’s chances. “We’ve lost a couple of experienced blokes.” He named Kevin Sinfield, who retired from international rugby after the World Cup, and James Roby, the St Helens’ man of the match in the Grand Final. “But there’s a lot of young lads in this team that have really stepped up in Super League, and some in the NRL. I think We’ve got a great chance.”

Tomkins plays in the National Rugby League himself these days, after a mixed debut season with the New Zealand Warriors. He is joined in the squad by five players who have stayed in Australia since the end of their club season – the prop Mike Cooper and stand-off Gareth Widdop from the St George Illawarra Dragons, and three forwards who figured in another bruising Grand Final in Sydney this month. James Graham suffered a seventh Grand Final defeat in eight years despite a valiant captain’s performance for Canterbury, but the Burgess twins Thomas and George both excelled in South Sydney’s triumph.

The only regret – a major one – for Tomkins and England is that their elder brother Sam is no longer available; his next appearance when he has recovered from the facial injuries inflicted by Graham’s head in the first minute of the Grand Final will be in rugby union for Bath.

He concedes that Sam is irreplaceable, as one of the best league players in the world. But Tomkins argued, plausibly, that in his two “little” brothers, plus Graham, Cooper and Warrington’s consistently excellent prop Chris Hill, England retain plenty of strength to lay a platform for Daryl Clark, the uncapped 21-year-old hooker whose outstanding season with Castleford was recognised last week with Super League’s Man of Steel award.

“Daryl’s got that bit of flair about him, that bit of X-factor around the middle,” said Tomkins, who has always relished playing at international level with kindred free spirits such as Widdop, Josh Charnley and Ryan Hall. “We’ve got some big forwards that will be able to lay a platform and hopefully off the back of that he’ll be able to play some of the stuff that’s seen him get in the England team.”