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According to captain George Williams, England were handed a harsh "sobering lesson" as Australia secured the coveted Ashes trophy.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 triumph at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on the weekend gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making the upcoming sold-out third Test a dead rubber.

The national squad had entered the series holding aspirations of inflicting Australia to their initial series loss since over five decades ago.

Over the last 24 months, they had secured a 3-0 series win over the Tongan side and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the historic rivalry returned after a two-decade hiatus, England were failed to take the next step against the top-ranked team.

"We're not making excuses. There were enough sessions to execute properly on the field, and it's clear we've achieved that," the captain told.

"Credit to Australia. They proved good defensively. But we've got a lot to address. We're probably not as prepared as we believed we were going into this series.

"This serves as a necessary wake-up call for us, and there is much to improve on."

Australia 'Show Up and Are Merciless'

Having been comprehensively defeated in an sloppy showing at Wembley, Wane side's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the traditional strongholds of England's north.

In a rousing initial stages, England caused turnovers from the Australians and had dominant territory and ball control, but importantly did not make it count on the points tally.

Tellingly, England have now managed just one score over the series so far, with St Helens hooker Daryl Clark barging over late on in the defeat in the capital.

Conversely, Australia have racked up six so far - and when mistakes began to creep into the hosts' play just after the half-time, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be severely punished.

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

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

"The switch off for a brief period after half-time damaged us severely. Munster's try was easy and should never happen in a Test match.

"The team is devastated. So proud the squad had a fight but so disappointed with that post-interval, which cost us significantly."

While the next World Cup in Oceania is just under 12 months away, the team's immediate focus will be on trying to restore some pride, avoiding a series whitewash and eradicating the issues that irritated the coach.

"I hoped to see greater effort directed toward Australia. My aim was us to apply sustained attack in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We managed this week. The issue is a lack of precision in our attack where we could have put them under increased strain. It's essential to defend both [tries] better.

"Credit to Australia - that is no slight to them. They arrive and are ruthless when they get a chance, and we weren't, but defensively we must do better.

"The Australians will be focused to win 3-0 and we need to be just as focused to make it 2-1. I've told that to the squad. It has to be our obsession. It will be a difficult week but the side that strives for it the greatest will emerge victorious next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Elevate in Super League

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

Yet the coach believes that the caliber of the NRL - and quality of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and Queensland - provide a superior foundation for competing at the highest level of the international game than what is on offer in the northern hemisphere.

Wane noted that the hectic Super League fixture list allowed little opportunity for him to coach his squad during the campaign, which will only pose additional concerns around how the national team can close the divide to the Kangaroos before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

"They participate in a lot of internationals in their league," he remarked.

"We have 10-15 a year. We need really intense games to boost the domestic league and improve our prospects of succeeding in these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even train with the players. We never got on the field in the season and despite having the total cooperation of everyone in the domestic competition.

"I have also been in the boots of the club managers that must to win games. The league is that tight. It's a pity but it's not the reason we lost today."