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In the words of skipper George Williams, England were delivered a brutal "reality check" as the Kangaroos secured the prestigious series.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 victory at the Merseyside venue on Saturday gave them a commanding series edge, making next week's Headingley encounter a meaningless fixture.

Shaun Wane's side had come into the series dreaming of inflicting Australia to their maiden Ashes setback since the 1970s.

In the past two years, they had secured a clean sweep over the Tongan side and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the historic rivalry returned after a 22-year absence, England were failed to make the leap against the top-ranked team.

"We're not making excuses. There were enough training periods to execute properly on the pitch, and it's clear we've managed that," Williams told.

"Australia deserve praise. They proved strong defensively. But we've got loads to address. We're probably not as strong as we thought we were entering this series.

"So it's a necessary wake-up call for us, and [there is] loads to improve on."

Australia 'Turn Up and Are Merciless'

Having been soundly beaten in an error-strewn display at Wembley, England's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the rugby league heartlands of the North.

In an inspiring opening period, the home side forced mistakes from the Australians and had dominant territory and ball control, but importantly did not capitalize on the scoreboard.

Notably, the English team have now managed just one try over 160 minutes, with St Helens hooker Daryl Clark scoring late on in the setback in London.

On the other hand, the Kangaroos have scored half a dozen in two games - and when mistakes began to creep into the hosts' play just after the interval, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be heavily penalized.

First Cameron Munster went over, and then so too did the forward. From being tied at four-all, the home side were trailing by 10.

"Satisfied for the majority of the game. I thought for most of the match we were solid," said the coach.

"The lapse for 10 minutes after half-time damaged us severely. The first try was avoidable and should not be scored in a top-level game.

"We're deeply disappointed. So proud the players had a go but very frustrated with that post-interval, which hurt us significantly."

Although the next World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere is just under 12 months away, the team's primary concern will be on trying to salvage honor, avoiding a clean sweep and addressing the issues that annoyed Wane.

"I hoped to see additional intensity directed toward the opposition. My aim was us to maintain momentum in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the veteran coach.

"We managed this week. The issue is a lack of precision in our offensive play where we could have applied under greater stress. We need to stop each of [tries] more effectively.

"Fair play to Australia - that is not a criticism to them. They arrive and are merciless when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but defensively we must do better.

"The Australians will be focused to win 3-0 and we need to be just as focused to make it a competitive series. I've told that to the squad. It has to be our obsession. It's going to be a tough week but whoever desires it the most will secure victory next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Increase in Super League

The English side have participated in a comparable number of Test matches to Australia since the last World Cup in 2022.

However Wane argues that the caliber of the NRL - and standard of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and QLD - deliver a superior grounding for competing at the highest level of the global stage than what is available in the northern hemisphere.

Wane added that the hectic Super League fixture schedule left no time for him to train his squad during the season, which will only raise further questions around how the national team can narrow the difference to the Kangaroos before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

"They play a large number of internationals in their league," Wane stated.

"We play 10-15 a year. It's crucial demanding games to improve the competition and boost our prospects of succeeding in these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even train with the squad. We never trained together in the season and despite having the full backing of everyone in the domestic competition.

"I understand in the position of the head coaches that must to win games. The league is that congested. It's a pity but that's not the reason we got beaten today."