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As stated by skipper the England captain, the national team were delivered a brutal "sobering lesson" as the Kangaroos clinched the prestigious series.

The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at the Merseyside venue on the weekend gave them a commanding series edge, making the upcoming final match in Leeds a dead rubber.

The England team had entered the series harbouring hopes of sending Australia to their initial series loss since 1970.

Recently, they had enjoyed a clean sweep over the Tongan side and a success over the Samoan team. But as the historic rivalry resumed after a long break, the English were failed to make the leap against the top-ranked team.

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

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They proved good defensively. But there's plenty to address. We're probably not as prepared as we believed we were entering this series.

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

Australia 'Arrive and Are Merciless'

After being soundly beaten in an sloppy showing at Wembley, England's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the rugby league heartlands of England's north.

In a rousing opening period, the home side forced mistakes from the Australians and had superior positioning and possession, but importantly did not make it count on the scoreboard.

Significantly, England have now scored just one score over the series so far, with player Daryl Clark powering through late on in the setback in London.

On the other hand, the Kangaroos have accumulated half a dozen across the series - and when errors began to appear in the hosts' play just after the break, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be made to pay.

First Cameron Munster went over, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being tied at 4-4, the home side were down by double digits.

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

"The lapse for 10 minutes after half-time hurt us severely. The first try was avoidable and should not be scored in a top-level game.

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

While the next World Cup in Oceania is just under next year, England's immediate focus will be on trying to salvage honor, avoiding a series whitewash and eliminating the issues that irritated Wane.

"I hoped to see additional intensity thrown at Australia. My aim was us to build pressure in the game - we fell short last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We managed this week. The issue is a bit of detail in our offense where we could have put them under greater stress. It's essential to stop each of [tries] more effectively.

"Fair play to Australia - that is no slight to them. They arrive and are ruthless when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but in defense we can and should do improve.

"The Australians will be obsessed to win 3-0 and we need to be obsessed to make it a respectable scoreline. I've said that to the squad. This must become our primary goal. It will be a difficult week but whoever desires it the greatest will emerge victorious next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Increase in Domestic Competition

England have played a similar number of international fixtures to Australia since the last World Cup in 2022.

Yet the coach thinks that the quality of the NRL - and level of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and QLD - deliver a more effective foundation for performing at the highest level of the global stage than what is available in the UK.

The England coach added that the packed domestic league calendar allowed little opportunity for him to work with his team during the season, which will only pose more issues around how the national team can narrow the difference to the Kangaroos before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

"The Australians participate in a lot of Test matches in their league," Wane stated.

"England play 10-15 a year. It's crucial demanding games to improve the domestic league and increase our prospects of winning these high-stakes fixtures.

"I couldn't even train with the squad. We never got on the field in the campaign and despite having the complete support of everyone in the domestic competition.

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