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As stated by skipper the England captain, England were delivered a stark "wake-up call" as the Kangaroos secured the prestigious series.

Australia's 14-4 victory at the Merseyside venue on Saturday gave them a commanding series edge, making next week's sold-out third Test a dead rubber.

The England team had entered the series harbouring hopes of inflicting Australia to their first Ashes series defeat since the 1970s.

Over the last 24 months, they had secured a clean sweep over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the prestigious competition resumed after a long break, England were failed to advance further against the reigning title holders.

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

"Australia deserve praise. They were good defensively. But there's loads to address. We're probably not as strong as we thought we were going into this series.

"So it's a valuable lesson for us, and there is much to develop."

Australia 'Show Up and Prove Merciless'

After being comprehensively defeated in an mistake-ridden performance at the national stadium, England's were much improved on the weekend back in the core regions of northern England.

During an energetic first half, the home side forced mistakes from the Australians and had dominant territory and ball control, but importantly did not capitalize on the points tally.

Significantly, the English team have now scored just a single touchdown over 160 minutes, with St Helens hooker Daryl Clark barging over late on in the loss in the capital.

Conversely, Australia have racked up half a dozen across the series - and when errors began to appear in the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be heavily penalized.

Initially Cameron Munster went over, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being level at 4-4, England were down by double digits.

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

"The lapse for a brief period after half-time damaged us immensely. The first try was avoidable and should never happen in a top-level game.

"We're deeply disappointed. Extremely pleased the squad had a dig but very frustrated with that second-half lapse, which cost us heavily."

While the upcoming global tournament in Oceania is just under a year from now, the team's primary concern will be on attempting to salvage honor, preventing a clean sweep and addressing the issues that irritated the coach.

"I hoped to see additional intensity directed toward the opposition. I wanted us to build pressure in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the veteran coach.

"We did this week. It's just a bit of detail in our offensive play where we could have applied under greater stress. It's essential to defend both [tries] with greater resolve.

"Fair play to Australia - that is not a criticism to them. They arrive and are ruthless when they capitalize, and we weren't, but in defense we can and should do improve.

"They will be determined to win 3-0 and we need to be just as focused to make it a competitive series. I've said that to the players. This must become our main aim. It's going to be a difficult week but whoever strives for it the most will get the win next week."

Competitive Edge Needs to Increase in Domestic Competition

The English side have participated in a similar number of Test matches to Australia since the previous global tournament in 2022.

However the coach thinks that the quality of the NRL - and standard of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and QLD - deliver a more effective grounding for competing at the highest level of the international game than what is available in the UK.

The England coach noted that the congested domestic league calendar left little opportunity for him to work with his squad during the season, which will only pose more issues around how the national team can bridge the gap to the Kangaroos before heading to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"The Australians participate in a lot of internationals in their league," Wane stated.

"We have 10-15 a year. We need highly competitive games to enhance the competition and boost our prospects of winning these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even practice with the players. We never got on the field in the season and I had the complete support of everyone in the domestic competition.

"I understand in the boots of the head coaches that need to win games. The league is that tight. It's a pity but that's not the reason we were defeated today."