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As stated by leader George Williams, the national team were given a harsh "reality check" as the Kangaroos won the prestigious series.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 triumph at the Merseyside venue on the weekend gave them a commanding series edge, making the upcoming final match in Leeds a dead rubber.

Shaun Wane's side had entered the series holding aspirations of sending Australia to their maiden Ashes setback since 1970.

Recently, they had enjoyed a 3-0 series win over the Tongan side and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the prestigious competition returned after a two-decade hiatus, the English were failed to make the leap against the reigning title holders.

"We're not making excuses. There were enough training periods to perform correctly on the pitch, and it's clear we've achieved that," the captain told.

"Credit to Australia. They proved good defensively. But there's plenty to work on. We're probably not as prepared as we believed we were entering this series.

"So it's a necessary reality check for us, and there is much to enhance."

The Kangaroos 'Arrive and Are Ruthless'

Having been soundly beaten in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, England's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the traditional strongholds of the North.

In an inspiring opening period, the home side caused turnovers from the Australians 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 two full matches, with player the forward barging over late on in the defeat in London.

On the other hand, the Kangaroos have scored half a dozen in two games - and when mistakes began to affect the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be severely punished.

First the playmaker scored, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being level at 4-4, the home side were 10 points adrift.

"Satisfied for the majority of the game. In my view for 70 minutes we were competitive," said Wane.

"The lapse for a brief period after half-time hurt us immensely. Munster's try was avoidable and should never happen in a Test match.

"The team is devastated. Extremely pleased the players had a go but so disappointed with that post-interval, which cost us heavily."

Although the upcoming global tournament in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under 12 months away, England's short-term goal will be on trying to regain respect, avoiding a 3-0 sweep and eradicating the issues that irritated Wane.

"I hoped to see greater effort directed toward Australia. My aim was us to apply sustained attack in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We did this week. The issue is a bit of detail in our attack where we could have applied under more pressure. It's essential to stop each of [tries] with greater resolve.

"Credit to the Kangaroos - that is not a criticism to them. They perform and are merciless when they seize opportunities, and we weren't, but defensively we must do enhance.

"They will be focused to win 3-0 and we need to be equally determined to make it a respectable scoreline. I've said that to the squad. It has to be our obsession. It will be a difficult week but the side that strives for it the most will get the win next week."

Intensity Needs to Elevate in Domestic Competition

England have participated in a comparable number of international fixtures to the Kangaroos since the previous global tournament in recent years.

Yet Wane argues that the quality of the Australian league - and quality of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and QLD - provide a more effective preparation for performing at the top of the global stage than what is available in the Europe.

Wane commented that the hectic domestic league fixture schedule left no time for him to train his players during the season, which will only raise additional concerns around how England can bridge the gap to the Kangaroos before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

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

"We have 10-15 a year. It's crucial really intense games to boost the competition and improve our prospects of winning these high-stakes fixtures.

"I couldn't even train with the players. We never got on the field in the campaign and I had the full backing of all clubs in the domestic competition.

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