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As stated by skipper George Williams, the national team were delivered a brutal "wake-up call" as Australia secured the coveted Ashes trophy.

Australia's 14-4 victory at the stadium in Liverpool on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making next week's final match in Leeds a meaningless fixture.

The national squad had come into the series harbouring hopes of sending the Kangaroos to their maiden Ashes setback since the 1970s.

Over the last 24 months, they had enjoyed a clean sweep over the Tongan side and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the prestigious competition returned after a two-decade hiatus, England were failed to advance further against the reigning title holders.

"No excuses from us. We've had enough sessions to perform correctly on the field, and I don't think we've quite done that," Williams told.

"Credit to Australia. They were good in defense. But there's a lot to work on. We're probably not as strong as we believed we were going into this series.

"This serves as a good reality check for us, and [there is] loads to enhance."

Australia 'Show Up and Prove Merciless'

After being soundly beaten in an mistake-ridden performance at Wembley, England's were significantly better on Saturday back in the traditional strongholds of the North.

In a rousing opening period, England elicited errors from the Australians and had superior positioning and possession, but unfortunately did not convert opportunities on the points tally.

Significantly, England have now scored just one score over the series so far, with St Helens hooker Daryl Clark scoring late on in the defeat in the capital.

Conversely, Australia have racked up six in two games - and when mistakes began to affect the hosts' play just after the break, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be severely punished.

Initially the playmaker went over, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being tied at 4-4, England 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 the break damaged us immensely. The first try was soft and should not be scored in a top-level game.

"We're heartbroken. Extremely pleased the players had a go but so disappointed with that second-half lapse, which proved costly heavily."

While the next World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under a year from now, the team's immediate focus will be on attempting to regain respect, avoiding a clean sweep and eliminating the errors that frustrated Wane.

"I hoped to see greater effort directed toward the opposition. I wanted 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 minor refinements in our offense where we could have put them under more pressure. It's essential to defend both [tries] with greater resolve.

"Credit to Australia - that is no detriment to them. They arrive and are clinical when they capitalize, and we weren't, but defensively we can and should do improve.

"The Australians will be obsessed to win 3-0 and we need to be just as focused to make it a competitive series. I've said that to the squad. This must become our main aim. It will be a challenging week but the side that desires it the most will emerge victorious next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Elevate in Super League

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

However Wane argues that the quality of the Australian league - and level of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and Queensland - provide a superior preparation for competing at the top of the global stage than what is available in the northern hemisphere.

Wane commented that the congested domestic league calendar allowed little opportunity for him to work with his squad during the season, which will only pose more issues around how the national team can narrow the difference to Australia before travelling to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"The Australians play a large number of Test matches in their competition," he remarked.

"We play 10-15 a year. It's crucial highly competitive games to improve the competition and improve our prospects of winning these high-stakes fixtures.

"It was impossible to even train with the players. We never trained together in the season and despite having the complete support of all clubs in Super League.

"I have also been in the boots of the head coaches that must to win games. The league is that congested. It's unfortunate but it's not the reason we got beaten today."