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According to captain George Williams, the national team were given a stark "wake-up call" as the Kangaroos won the coveted Ashes trophy.

Australia's 14-4 victory at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday gave them a commanding series edge, making the upcoming sold-out third Test a academic contest.

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

In the past two years, they had achieved a dominant victory over Tonga 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 take the next step against the reigning title holders.

"We take full responsibility. There were enough sessions to perform correctly on the field, and it's clear we've managed that," Williams stated.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They proved strong defensively. But we've got loads to address. It seems not as prepared as we expected we were entering this series.

"This serves as a good wake-up call for us, and [there is] loads to improve on."

Australia 'Turn Up and Are Ruthless'

Having been heavily outplayed in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, Wane side's were significantly better on the weekend back in the traditional strongholds of England's north.

In a rousing first half, the home side caused turnovers from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and possession, but crucially did not capitalize on the points tally.

Tellingly, the English team have now scored just one score over two full matches, with player Daryl Clark powering through late on in the defeat in the capital.

On the other hand, Australia have racked up six across the series - and when mistakes began to appear in the hosts' play just after the interval, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be made to pay.

Initially the playmaker went over, and then so too did the forward. From being level at four-all, the home side were 10 points adrift.

"Proud for the bulk of the game. In my view for most of the match we were good," said Wane.

"The drop in intensity for a brief period after the break damaged us immensely. Munster's try was avoidable and should not be scored in a top-level game.

"The team is heartbroken. Extremely pleased the players had a dig but so disappointed with that after half-time, which cost us dearly."

While the next World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under 12 months away, England's immediate focus will be on attempting to salvage honor, preventing a clean sweep and eradicating the issues that annoyed Wane.

"I wanted to see additional intensity thrown at the opposition. I wanted us to apply sustained attack in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We managed this week. The issue is a minor refinements in our attack where we could have put them under increased strain. It's essential to defend both [tries] with greater resolve.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is no detriment to them. They perform and are ruthless when they capitalize, and we weren't, but in defense we must do improve.

"They will be obsessed to win the series whitewash and we need to be equally determined to make it 2-1. I've said that to the players. This must become our obsession. It will be a tough week but the side that wants it the most will get the win next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Increase in Super League

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

Yet Wane believes that the strength of the NRL - and level of the State of Origin matches between NSW and QLD - offer a much better grounding for performing at the top of the international game than what is available in the northern hemisphere.

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 bridge the gap to the Kangaroos before travelling to Oceania in 2026.

"The Australians participate in a large number of internationals in their competition," he remarked.

"England have ten to fifteen a year. It's crucial highly competitive games to improve the domestic league and boost our prospects of winning these sorts of games.

"I couldn't even train with the squad. There was no chance to trained together in the campaign and despite having the total cooperation of all clubs in the domestic competition.

"I have also been in the shoes of the head coaches that need to win games. The league is that tight. It's unfortunate but that's not the cause we got beaten today."