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As stated by leader George Williams, the national team were handed a brutal "sobering lesson" as the Kangaroos clinched the prestigious series.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 triumph at the Merseyside venue on the weekend gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making the upcoming final match in Leeds a dead rubber.

Shaun Wane's side had come into the series holding aspirations of inflicting Australia to their first Ashes series defeat since 1970.

Recently, they had secured a clean sweep over Tonga and a series win over Samoa. But as the historic rivalry returned after a 22-year absence, England were unable to advance further against the world champions.

"We take full responsibility. We've had enough sessions to get it right on the field, and I don't think we've achieved that," the captain told.

"Australia deserve praise. They proved good in defense. But we've got loads to improve. It seems not as strong as we expected we were entering this series.

"This serves as a good wake-up call for us, and there is much to develop."

Australia 'Show Up and Prove Ruthless'

After being comprehensively defeated in an error-strewn display at the national stadium, Wane side's were significantly better on the weekend back in the core regions of northern England.

During an energetic initial stages, the home side caused turnovers from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and ball control, but unfortunately did not make it count on the points tally.

Tellingly, England have now managed just a single touchdown over the series so far, with player the forward powering through late on in the loss in London.

On the other hand, Australia have racked up half a dozen in two games - and when errors began to creep into the hosts' play just after the break, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be severely punished.

Initially the playmaker scored, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being tied at 4-4, the home side were trailing by 10.

"Proud for the bulk of the game. In my view for 70 minutes we were solid," said the coach.

"The drop in intensity for a brief period after half-time hurt us greatly. The first try was easy and should never happen in a top-level game.

"We're devastated. Extremely pleased the squad had a go but very frustrated with that second-half lapse, which hurt us heavily."

Although the upcoming global tournament in the Southern Hemisphere is just under next year, the team's primary concern will be on trying to regain respect, avoiding a series whitewash and addressing the issues that frustrated Wane.

"I hoped to see more directed toward Australia. I wanted us to build pressure in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We managed this week. It's just a lack of precision in our attack where we could have applied under greater stress. It's essential to defend both [tries] with greater resolve.

"Credit to the Kangaroos - that is no detriment to them. They perform and are merciless when they seize opportunities, and we weren't, but in defense we must do better.

"The Australians will be determined to win 3-0 and we need to be equally determined to make it a competitive series. I've told that to the players. It has to be our main aim. It's going to be a challenging week but the side that desires it the greatest will get the win next week."

Intensity Needs to Improve in Super League

England have played a comparable number of international fixtures to Australia since the last World Cup in 2022.

However Wane believes that the caliber of the NRL - and standard of the State of Origin matches between NSW and QLD - offer a more effective foundation for performing at the top of the international game than what is available in the Europe.

The England coach noted that the congested Super League calendar allowed no time for him to train his squad during the campaign, which will only raise further questions around how the national team can close the divide to the Kangaroos before heading to Oceania in 2026.

"They participate in a lot of internationals in their competition," he stated.

"We have ten to fifteen a year. It's crucial highly competitive games to improve the domestic league and improve our chances of winning these types of matches.

"I couldn't even train with the players. We never trained together in the season and despite having the full backing of all clubs in the domestic competition.

"I have also been in the position of the club managers that need to win games. The league is that congested. It's a pity but that's not the reason we lost today."