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According to captain George Williams, the national team were given a harsh "reality check" as Australia secured the Rugby League Ashes.

Australia's 14-4 triumph at the stadium in Liverpool on the weekend gave them a commanding series edge, making next week's final match in Leeds a dead rubber.

Shaun Wane's side had come into the series holding aspirations of inflicting Australia to their maiden Ashes setback since the 1970s.

In the past two years, they had enjoyed a 3-0 series win over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the prestigious competition resumed after a two-decade hiatus, the English were failed to take the next step against the world champions.

"We're not making excuses. There were enough sessions to execute properly on the field, and it's clear we've quite done that," Williams commented.

"Credit to Australia. They were good defensively. But we've got a lot to address. It seems not as prepared as we thought we were going into this series.

"So it's a necessary wake-up call for us, and we have plenty to develop."

Australia 'Show Up and Prove Merciless'

Having been soundly beaten in an error-strewn display at the national stadium, England's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the traditional strongholds of northern England.

In an inspiring first half, the home side caused turnovers from the Kangaroos and had dominant territory and ball control, but unfortunately did not convert opportunities on the scoreboard.

Significantly, England have now managed just one try over two full matches, with player the forward barging over late on in the defeat in the capital.

In contrast, Australia have accumulated six across the series - and when blunders began to appear in the England's play just after the break, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be heavily penalized.

Initially Cameron Munster scored, and then so too did the forward. From being level at four-all, the home side were 10 points adrift.

"Satisfied for the majority of the game. I thought for 70 minutes we were solid," said the coach.

"The switch off for a brief period after the break hurt us severely. The first try was easy and should never happen in a Test match.

"The team is devastated. Extremely pleased the players had a fight but very frustrated with that after half-time, which proved costly dearly."

While the upcoming global tournament in Oceania is just under 12 months away, England's short-term goal will be on attempting to regain respect, avoiding a 3-0 sweep and eradicating the issues that frustrated Wane.

"I hoped to see additional intensity directed toward the opposition. I wanted us to maintain momentum in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the veteran coach.

"We managed this week. The issue is a bit of detail in our offensive play where we could have applied under increased strain. It's essential to stop each of [tries] more effectively.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is no detriment to them. They turn up and are merciless when they capitalize, and we failed to be, but in defense we must do enhance.

"The Australians will be focused to win the series whitewash and we need to be just as focused to make it a competitive series. I've said that to the squad. This must become our obsession. It's going to be a difficult week but the side that desires it the greatest will emerge victorious next week."

Competitive Edge Needs to Improve in Super League

The English side have played a similar number of international fixtures to Australia since the previous global tournament in recent years.

However Wane thinks that the quality of the Australian league - and standard of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and QLD - deliver a more effective preparation for competing at the highest level of the global stage than what is on offer in the UK.

The England coach added that the hectic domestic league calendar left no time for him to train his squad during the season, which will only pose additional concerns around how England can narrow the difference to Australia before heading to Oceania in 2026.

"The Australians play a large number of Test matches in their league," he remarked.

"England play 10-15 a year. It's crucial highly competitive games to enhance the domestic league and boost our prospects of succeeding in these high-stakes fixtures.

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

"I have also been in the boots of the head coaches that need to win games. The competition is that tight. It's unfortunate but that's not the reason we were defeated today."