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In the words of skipper the England captain, the national team were handed a harsh "sobering lesson" as Australia secured the prestigious series.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 victory at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on the weekend gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making the upcoming Headingley encounter a meaningless fixture.

Shaun Wane's side had entered the series holding aspirations of sending the Kangaroos to their maiden Ashes setback since 1970.

Recently, they had achieved a dominant victory over Tonga and a series win over the Samoan team. But as the historic rivalry resumed after a 22-year absence, the English were unable to advance further against the reigning title holders.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough preparations to get it right on the pitch, and it's clear we've achieved that," the captain told.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They were strong in defense. But there's plenty to work on. We're probably not as prepared as we thought we were going into this series.

"So it's a necessary wake-up call for us, and [there is] loads to enhance."

Australia 'Arrive and Are Ruthless'

After being heavily outplayed in an error-strewn display at Wembley, England's were much improved on Saturday back in the traditional strongholds of the North.

In an inspiring first half, England elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and ball control, but crucially did not convert opportunities on the points tally.

Tellingly, the English team have now scored just a single touchdown over 160 minutes, with St Helens hooker Daryl Clark scoring late on in the defeat in the capital.

In contrast, the Kangaroos have scored half a dozen in two games - and when mistakes began to appear in the hosts' play just after the half-time, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be heavily penalized.

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

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

"The drop in intensity for 10 minutes after the break cost us severely. Munster's try was easy and should not be scored in a Test match.

"We're deeply disappointed. Extremely pleased the squad had a dig but so disappointed with that post-interval, which hurt us dearly."

While the next World Cup in Oceania is just under 12 months away, the team's primary concern will be on trying to regain respect, avoiding a 3-0 sweep and addressing the errors that annoyed Wane.

"I wanted to see more directed toward Australia. I wanted us to apply sustained attack in the game - we fell short last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We did this week. It's just a lack of precision in our offensive play where we could have put them under greater stress. We need to stop each of [tries] with greater resolve.

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

"The Australians will be determined to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it a competitive series. I've told that to the players. This must become our main aim. It's going to be a challenging week but whoever strives for it the greatest will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Must 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.

Yet Wane argues that the caliber of the NRL - and quality of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and QLD - deliver a much better preparation for performing at the highest level of the global stage than what is available in the Europe.

Wane added that the congested Super League fixture list allowed no time for him to train his players during the campaign, which will only pose more issues around how England can narrow the difference to Australia before travelling to Oceania in 2026.

"The Australians play a lot of Test matches in their competition," he stated.

"England play 10-15 a year. We need really intense games to improve the competition and increase our chances of succeeding in these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even train with the squad. There was no chance to got on the field in the season and I had the complete support of everyone in Super League.

"I have also been in the position of the club managers that must to win games. The competition is that tight. It's unfortunate but it's not the reason we were defeated today."