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According to skipper George Williams, England were delivered a stark "reality check" as Australia won the coveted Ashes trophy.

The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at the Merseyside venue on the weekend gave them a 2-0 series lead, making next week's final match in Leeds a academic contest.

The England team had entered the series holding aspirations of inflicting Australia to their initial series loss since over five decades ago.

In the past two years, they had enjoyed 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, the English were unable to make the leap against the reigning title holders.

"No excuses from us. There were enough preparations to get it right on the pitch, and I don't think we've quite done that," Williams told.

"Australia deserve praise. They proved good defensively. But there's loads to work on. It seems not as prepared as we thought we were entering this series.

"So it's a valuable wake-up call for us, and there is much to develop."

The Kangaroos 'Show Up and Prove Merciless'

After being soundly beaten in an mistake-ridden performance at the national stadium, England's were much improved on Saturday back in the traditional strongholds of northern England.

In a rousing opening period, England elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and possession, but crucially did not make it count on the scoreboard.

Notably, England have now managed just one score over the series so far, with St Helens hooker Daryl Clark powering through late on in the defeat in the capital.

In contrast, Australia have accumulated half a dozen in two games - and when mistakes began to affect the hosts' play just after the interval, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be made to pay.

Initially Cameron Munster scored, and then so too did the forward. From being tied at four-all, the home side were 10 points adrift.

"Proud for the bulk of the game. I thought for most of the match we were solid," said Wane.

"The lapse for a brief period after half-time cost us greatly. The first try was soft and should not be scored in a top-level game.

"The team is devastated. Extremely pleased the squad had a fight but so disappointed with that post-interval, which proved costly significantly."

Although the upcoming global tournament in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under a year from now, the team's short-term goal will be on trying to regain respect, avoiding a series whitewash and addressing the issues that irritated the coach.

"I wanted to see additional intensity thrown at Australia. My aim was us to maintain momentum in the game - we fell short last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We managed this week. The issue is a bit of detail in our offensive play where we could have put them under more pressure. It's essential to defend both [tries] more effectively.

"Credit to Australia - that is no slight to them. They turn up and are merciless when they seize opportunities, and we weren't, but in defense we can and should do enhance.

"The Australians will be focused to win all three Tests and we need to be just as focused to make it a respectable scoreline. I've said that to the players. It has to be our obsession. It will be a challenging week but whoever strives for it the most will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Must to Increase in Domestic Competition

The English side have participated in a similar number of international fixtures to the Kangaroos since the previous global tournament in 2022.

However Wane believes that the quality of the Australian league - and standard of the domestic rivalry matches between NSW and QLD - offer a more effective foundation for competing at the top of the international game than what is on offer in the Europe.

Wane added that the congested Super League calendar allowed little opportunity for him to train his squad during the season, which will only raise more issues around how the national team can bridge the gap to the Kangaroos before travelling to Oceania in 2026.

"The Australians participate in a lot of Test matches in their competition," Wane stated.

"We play ten to fifteen a year. We need really intense games to boost the domestic league and boost our chances of winning these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even practice with the squad. There was no chance to got on the field in the campaign and I had the complete support of everyone in Super League.

"I understand in the shoes of the head coaches that need to win games. The league is that packed. It's a pity but that's not the reason we lost today."