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As stated by leader George Williams, England were given a stark "wake-up call" as Australia won the Rugby League Ashes.

Australia's 14-4 triumph at the Merseyside venue on the weekend gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making next week's Headingley encounter a dead rubber.

The national squad had come into the series holding aspirations of inflicting Australia to their maiden Ashes setback since 1970.

Recently, they had secured a clean sweep over Tonga and a series win over the Samoan team. But as the prestigious competition returned after a two-decade hiatus, England were failed to make the leap against the reigning title holders.

"No excuses from us. We've had enough preparations to get it right on the pitch, and I don't think we've achieved that," Williams told.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They were excellent in defense. But there's a lot to improve. We're probably not as good as we expected we were going into this series.

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

The Kangaroos 'Arrive and Are Merciless'

Having been heavily outplayed in an mistake-ridden performance at Wembley, Wane side's were significantly better on Saturday back in the traditional strongholds of the North.

In an inspiring initial stages, England forced mistakes from the Australians and had dominant territory and ball control, but importantly did not make it count on the scoreboard.

Tellingly, the English team have now scored just a single touchdown over the series so far, with St Helens hooker Daryl Clark barging over late on in the loss in London.

In contrast, Australia have racked up six so far - and when blunders began to creep into the England's play just after the interval, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be severely punished.

Initially the playmaker went over, and then so too did the forward. From being level at 4-4, England were trailing by 10.

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

"The lapse for 10 minutes after the break damaged us immensely. The first try was soft and should never happen in a international fixture.

"We're deeply disappointed. So proud the squad had a dig but very frustrated with that post-interval, which cost us significantly."

Although the next World Cup in Oceania is just under next year, England's short-term goal will be on attempting to salvage honor, preventing a series whitewash and eliminating the mistakes that irritated Wane.

"I wanted to see additional intensity directed toward Australia. I wanted us to maintain momentum in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the veteran coach.

"We managed this week. The issue is a lack of precision in our attack where we could have put them under greater stress. We need to stop each of [tries] with greater resolve.

"Credit to Australia - that is no detriment to them. They perform and are ruthless when they get a chance, and we weren't, but defensively we must do enhance.

"The Australians will be obsessed to win 3-0 and we need to be equally determined to make it a competitive series. I've told that to the squad. This must become our obsession. It's going to be a difficult week but the side that wants it the greatest will get the win next week."

Intensity Must to Increase in Domestic Competition

England have played a comparable number of international fixtures to the Kangaroos since the previous global tournament in 2022.

Yet Wane argues that the strength of the Australian league - and quality of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and QLD - provide a much better foundation for performing at the highest level of the global stage than what is available in the Europe.

Wane added that the hectic domestic league fixture list allowed no time for him to train his team during the campaign, which will only raise further questions around how the national team can close the divide to the Kangaroos before heading to Oceania in 2026.

"The Australians participate in a large number of internationals in their competition," Wane stated.

"We play 10-15 a year. We need demanding games to boost the domestic league and improve our chances of winning these high-stakes fixtures.

"I couldn't even practice with the players. There was no chance to got on the field in the season and despite having the total cooperation of all clubs in Super League.

"I understand in the position of the club managers that need to win games. The league is that congested. It's a pity but it's not the cause we got beaten today."