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In the words of skipper the England captain, England were handed a stark "wake-up call" as the Kangaroos won the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 victory at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on the weekend gave them a 2-0 series lead, making the upcoming sold-out third Test a meaningless fixture.

The national squad had come into the series dreaming of inflicting Australia to their initial series loss since 1970.

Over the last 24 months, they had enjoyed a dominant victory over the Tongan side and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. 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. There were enough preparations to execute properly on the field, and it's clear we've quite done that," Williams stated.

"Credit to Australia. They were strong defensively. But there's a lot to work on. We're probably not as strong as we expected we were going into this series.

"This serves as a good reality check for us, and [there is] loads to improve on."

Australia 'Arrive and Are Ruthless'

Having been soundly beaten in an mistake-ridden performance at the national stadium, Wane side's were significantly better on the weekend back in the core regions of northern England.

In a rousing first half, England caused turnovers from the Australians and had superior positioning and ball control, but unfortunately did not convert opportunities on the points tally.

Notably, the English team have now scored just one score over the series so far, with player Daryl Clark powering through late on in the loss in the capital.

On the other hand, the Kangaroos have scored half a dozen across the series - and when mistakes began to creep into the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be heavily penalized.

First the playmaker crossed, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being level at 4-4, the home side were trailing by 10.

"Satisfied for the majority of the game. I thought for most of the match we were competitive," said the coach.

"The lapse for a brief period after the break damaged us severely. The first try was avoidable and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"The team is deeply disappointed. So proud the players had a go but very frustrated with that post-interval, which hurt us heavily."

While the upcoming global tournament in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under a year from now, the team's immediate focus will be on attempting to restore some pride, preventing a 3-0 sweep and addressing the errors that frustrated the coach.

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

"We did this week. The issue is a bit of detail in our offensive play where we could have applied under greater stress. We need to stop each of [tries] more effectively.

"Credit to Australia - that is no slight to them. They perform and are merciless when they get a chance, and we failed to be, but in defense we can and should do better.

"They will be obsessed to win all three Tests and we need to be just as focused to make it a competitive series. I've told that to the squad. It has to be our obsession. It will be a tough week but whoever strives for it the greatest will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Must to Increase in Super League

The English side have played a similar number of international fixtures to the Kangaroos since the last World Cup in 2022.

Yet Wane believes that the strength of the NRL - and level of the domestic rivalry matches between NSW and Queensland - offer a superior foundation for performing at the top of the global stage than what is available in the Europe.

Wane added that the congested domestic league fixture schedule allowed little opportunity for him to train his squad during the season, which will only pose further questions around how England can narrow the difference to the Kangaroos before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

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

"We have 10-15 a year. We need really intense games to improve the competition and increase our prospects of winning these sorts of games.

"I couldn't even practice with the squad. We never got on the field in the campaign and despite having the full backing of all clubs in Super League.

"I understand in the boots of the club managers that need to win games. The competition is that congested. It's a pity but that's not the cause we got beaten today."