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As stated by leader George Williams, England were handed a stark "reality check" as the Kangaroos secured the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at the Merseyside venue on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making next week's sold-out third Test a academic contest.

The national squad had come into the series holding aspirations of inflicting the Kangaroos to their maiden Ashes setback since over five decades ago.

Recently, they had secured a 3-0 series win over Tonga and a series win over the Samoan team. But as the prestigious competition returned after a long break, England were unable to advance further against the world champions.

"We're not making excuses. There were enough preparations to get it right on the pitch, and it's clear we've managed that," Williams stated.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They proved excellent defensively. But we've got a lot to improve. It seems not as prepared as we believed we were going into this series.

"This serves as a necessary reality check for us, and there is much to enhance."

The Kangaroos 'Show Up and Prove Ruthless'

After being heavily outplayed in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, England's were much improved on the weekend back in the core regions of England's north.

In an inspiring opening period, the home side forced mistakes from the Kangaroos and had dominant territory and possession, but crucially did not make it count on the scoreboard.

Tellingly, the English team have now managed just one try over two full matches, with player Daryl Clark scoring late on in the loss in London.

Conversely, Australia have racked up half a dozen in two games - and when errors began to affect the England's play just after the break, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be made to pay.

First the playmaker scored, and then so too did the forward. From being level at four-all, the home side were trailing by 10.

"Proud for the majority of the game. In my view for 70 minutes we were good," said Wane.

"The lapse for a brief period after half-time cost us severely. Munster's try was soft and should never happen in a international fixture.

"The team is heartbroken. So proud the squad had a dig but very frustrated with that second-half lapse, which cost us heavily."

While the upcoming global tournament in Oceania is just under next year, the team's primary concern will be on attempting to regain respect, avoiding a clean sweep and addressing the errors that frustrated the coach.

"I hoped to see additional intensity directed toward Australia. I wanted us to maintain momentum in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the 61-year-old.

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

"Credit to Australia - 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 can and should do enhance.

"They will be focused to win all three Tests and we need to be equally determined to make it 2-1. I've told that to the players. This must become our main aim. It will be a difficult week but whoever wants it the most will emerge victorious next week."

Competitive Edge Needs to Improve in Super League

The English side have participated in a similar number of Test matches to Australia since the last World Cup in recent years.

However Wane thinks that the strength of the Australian league - and standard of the State of Origin matches between NSW and Queensland - offer a more effective grounding for performing at the highest level of the global stage than what is available in the Europe.

The England coach commented that the hectic Super League fixture schedule allowed no time for him to work with his squad during the season, which will only raise additional concerns around how England can narrow the difference to Australia before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

"They play a lot of Test matches in their league," Wane stated.

"We play ten to fifteen a year. We need demanding games to enhance the competition and increase our prospects of succeeding in these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even practice with the squad. There was no chance to got on the field in the campaign and despite having the full backing of all clubs in the domestic competition.

"I understand in the position of the club managers that need to win games. The competition is that packed. It's unfortunate but it's not the reason we were defeated today."