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As stated by skipper the England captain, the national team were given a harsh "wake-up call" as Australia won the prestigious series.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 victory at the Merseyside venue on the weekend gave them a commanding series edge, making next week's Headingley encounter a academic contest.

Shaun Wane's side had come into the series harbouring hopes of sending the Kangaroos to their initial series loss since over five decades ago.

Over the last 24 months, they had achieved a dominant victory over Tonga and a series win over the Samoan team. But as the Rugby League Ashes returned after a long break, England were unable to take the next step against the reigning title holders.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough preparations to perform correctly on the pitch, and it's clear we've managed that," the captain commented.

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

"This serves as a valuable lesson for us, and we have plenty to develop."

The Kangaroos 'Show Up and Prove Ruthless'

After being soundly beaten in an mistake-ridden performance at Wembley, England's were much improved on the weekend back in the rugby league heartlands of the North.

In a rousing opening period, the home side elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had all the field position and ball control, but unfortunately did not convert opportunities on the points tally.

Notably, England have now managed just a single touchdown over the series so far, with player the forward scoring late on in the setback in the capital.

On the other hand, Australia have accumulated six in two games - and when mistakes began to creep into the hosts' play just after the interval, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be severely punished.

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

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

"The switch off for 10 minutes after half-time cost us greatly. Munster's try was easy and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"The team is devastated. Extremely pleased the squad had a dig but very frustrated with that second-half lapse, which proved costly dearly."

While the next World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under next year, the team's primary concern will be on trying to salvage honor, avoiding a clean sweep and eradicating the errors that irritated Wane.

"I wanted to see greater effort thrown at 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. It's just a minor refinements in our attack where we could have put them under more pressure. It's essential to stop each of [tries] more effectively.

"Fair play to Australia - that is no detriment to them. They arrive and are merciless when they get a chance, and we weren't, but in defense we must do improve.

"They will be focused to win the series whitewash and we need to be just as focused to make it 2-1. I've told that to the players. It has to be our obsession. It will be a tough week but the side that wants it the greatest will get the win next week."

Competitive Edge Needs to Elevate in Super League

The English side have played a similar number of Test matches to the Kangaroos since the previous global tournament in recent years.

However the coach believes that the strength of the NRL - and level of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and Queensland - offer a more effective preparation for competing at the top of the global stage than what is on offer in the UK.

Wane commented that the congested Super League calendar left no time for him to coach his team during the campaign, which will only raise further questions around how England can narrow the difference to the Kangaroos before travelling to Oceania in 2026.

"They play a large number of internationals in their competition," Wane added.

"We play ten to fifteen a year. It's crucial demanding games to boost the competition and boost our chances of succeeding in these types of matches.

"I couldn't even practice with the players. We never got on the field in the season and I had the total cooperation of all clubs in Super League.

"I have also been in the position of the head coaches that must to win games. The competition is that tight. It's a pity but it's not the reason we were defeated today."