“I know what we’re capable of, but we didn’t show anything of it on Saturday, which was really disappointing,” Wane said.
“We’ve analysed that. Did we train too hard? Not hard enough? Did we pick the right team? Hopefully, we’ve made the right changes for what’s going to challenge a fantastic Australian team.
“Our end of sets were poor. The way we got to the end, our skill level, we made three breaks and threw the ball away. All scoring opportunities Australia had, they converted. They were ruthless and excellent, but we weren’t. That can change in a heartbeat, but that’s what we’re hoping for.”
Despite a record UK Ashes crowd just over 60,000 in attendance in London, the atmosphere at Wembley Stadium was far from hostile.
The English hope that parochial fans in the north of England will make Hill Dickinson Stadium a far more intimidating prospect for the Australians.
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“We’re in a fantastic stadium,” Wane said. “We’re up north with a lot of people travelling. It’s going to be very loud. It’s going to be a proper Test match, which I don’t feel it was last week.”
The English have spent a large chunk of their preparations this week studying footage of Reece Walsh after he dismantled the opposition at Wembley Stadium last weekend.
Walsh scored two tries and saved another two, leaving the Poms on high alert.
“It’s tough because he’s talented,” Wane said.
“The way he stopped those tries – there’s not many players would’ve stopped them. He’s very hard to handle, but we’ve worked hard with our analysis. Hopefully there’s certain areas we can get the better of him. Let’s see what happens on Saturday.”
For the Kangaroos, Harry Grant will captain the team for the first time in the absence of lock Isaah Yeo.
