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In the words of skipper the England captain, the national team were handed a harsh "wake-up call" as Australia secured 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.

The national squad had come into the series holding aspirations of sending the Kangaroos to their initial series loss since over five decades ago.

Recently, they had achieved a dominant victory over the Tongan side and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the historic rivalry returned after a long break, the English were unable to make the leap against the top-ranked team.

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

"Credit to Australia. They proved excellent in defense. But we've got a lot to work on. We're probably not as prepared as we expected we were entering this series.

"So it's a valuable lesson for us, and there is much to enhance."

The Kangaroos 'Show Up and Are Ruthless'

After being comprehensively defeated in an sloppy showing at Wembley, Wane side's were much improved on Saturday back in the rugby league heartlands of the North.

In an inspiring opening period, England elicited errors from the Australians and had all the field position and possession, but unfortunately did not make it count on the points tally.

Notably, England have now managed just a single touchdown over 160 minutes, with player the forward powering through late on in the defeat in the capital.

In contrast, Australia have racked up six so far - and when errors began to appear in the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be severely punished.

Initially the playmaker scored, and then so too did the forward. From being level at 4-4, the home side were down by double digits.

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

"The lapse for a brief period after half-time hurt us greatly. The first try was avoidable and should never happen in a top-level game.

"The team is deeply disappointed. Extremely pleased the players had a dig but so disappointed with that second-half lapse, which hurt us heavily."

While the upcoming global tournament in the Southern Hemisphere is just under next year, England's primary concern will be on attempting to regain respect, avoiding a 3-0 sweep and eliminating the errors that frustrated the coach.

"I wanted to see additional intensity thrown at Australia. I wanted us to maintain momentum in the game - we fell short last week," added the veteran coach.

"We managed this week. It's just a minor refinements in our offensive play where we could have applied under greater stress. We need to defend both [tries] more effectively.

"Credit to the Kangaroos - that is no slight to them. They turn up and are merciless when they get a chance, and we failed to be, but in defense we must do better.

"They will be determined to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it a competitive series. I've told that to the squad. This must become our main aim. It will be a difficult week but the side that wants it the most will secure victory next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Improve in Domestic Competition

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

However Wane believes that the quality of the NRL - and standard of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and QLD - deliver a superior preparation for performing at the top of the international game than what is on offer in the northern hemisphere.

Wane commented that the hectic domestic league calendar left no time for him to train his squad during the campaign, which will only raise further questions around how the national team can narrow the difference to the Kangaroos before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

"They participate in a lot of internationals in their league," Wane stated.

"We play ten to fifteen a year. We need highly competitive games to enhance the domestic league and improve our prospects of winning these types of matches.

"I couldn't even train with the squad. We never trained together in the season and despite having the complete support of all clubs in the domestic competition.

"I understand in the position of the club managers that must to win games. The competition is that congested. It's unfortunate but that's not the cause we were defeated today."