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In the words of skipper George Williams, the national team were given a harsh "sobering lesson" as Australia clinched the prestigious series.

Australia's decisive 14-4 win at the Merseyside venue on Saturday gave them a commanding series edge, making next week's Headingley encounter a dead rubber.

Shaun Wane's side had come into the series dreaming of inflicting the Kangaroos to their first Ashes series defeat 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 Samoa. But as the prestigious competition resumed after a 22-year absence, England were unable to take the next step against the top-ranked team.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough training periods to perform correctly on the pitch, and I don't think we've managed that," Williams stated.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They proved excellent in defense. But there's plenty to work on. It seems not as strong as we thought we were going into this series.

"This serves as a valuable lesson for us, and [there is] loads to develop."

The Kangaroos 'Show Up and Are Ruthless'

Having been heavily outplayed in an error-strewn display at Wembley, England's were significantly better on Saturday back in the core regions of northern England.

In an inspiring initial stages, England forced mistakes from the Australians and had all the field position and possession, but unfortunately did not capitalize on the points tally.

Tellingly, the English team have now scored just one score over 160 minutes, with St Helens hooker the forward powering through late on in the defeat in the capital.

Conversely, Australia have accumulated six so far - and when blunders began to creep into the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be heavily penalized.

Initially Cameron Munster scored, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being level at four-all, England were trailing by 10.

"Satisfied for the bulk of the game. I thought for 70 minutes we were good," said the coach.

"The drop in intensity for a brief period after half-time damaged us severely. The first try was avoidable and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"The team is heartbroken. So proud the players had a go but very frustrated with that second-half lapse, which proved costly dearly."

Although the next World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under a year from now, England's short-term goal will be on attempting to salvage honor, preventing a 3-0 sweep and eradicating the issues that irritated the coach.

"I wanted to see greater effort thrown at the opposition. My aim was us to build pressure in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We managed this week. The issue is a bit of detail in our offense where we could have applied under increased strain. It's essential to defend both [tries] with greater resolve.

"Credit to the Kangaroos - that is no slight to them. They turn up and are merciless when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but in defense 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 players. This must become our main aim. It will be a challenging week but whoever desires it the most will secure victory next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Improve in Super League

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

Yet the coach believes that the caliber of the NRL - and level of the domestic rivalry matches between NSW and QLD - provide a much better foundation for performing at the top of the global stage than what is on offer in the Europe.

Wane added that the packed Super League fixture schedule allowed little opportunity for him to work with his team during the season, which will only pose additional concerns around how the national team can bridge the gap to the Kangaroos before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

"The Australians play a large number of internationals in their competition," he stated.

"We play ten to fifteen a year. We need demanding games to improve the competition and boost our prospects of winning these high-stakes fixtures.

"It was impossible to even practice with the squad. There was no chance to trained together in the season and despite having the complete support of everyone in the domestic competition.

"I have also been in the shoes of the head coaches that must to win games. The competition is that congested. It's unfortunate but that's not the reason we were defeated today."