'Comfortably': NRL team would beat 'horrid' England

Australia have proven to be too strong for the English national team, but Greg Alexander believes the rival nation would not be able to defeat some of the NRL's leading teams.

The Kangaroos won the Ashes series for the 14th consecutive time on Sunday after they withstood a physical attacking display from England in Liverpool in the second Test.

England made five changes to their starting line-up between the first and second Test, with rugby league stars AJ Brimson and Morgan Smithies earning call ups.

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But even those changes were not enough to halt the power of the Australian team.

The opening 20 minutes of the match looked promising for England as the visitors were put to the test, with only four points put on the board due to penalties for both teams.

Watch the 2025 rugby league Ashes series live and free on Nine and 9Now.

It wasn't until the 48th minute when Cameron Munster toppled over England's defence for the 'Roos. Hudson Young followed four minutes later after England's Tom Johnstone fumbled a Nathan Cleary bomb close to the in-goal.

However, Alexander was not impressed by the performance that he saw.

The Kangaroos recorded a total of 15 errors in comparison to their rival's 11, while conceding nine penalties and having two players sent to the sin bin.

Australia also missed a greater number of tackles (49) compared to England (39).

In Alexander's eyes, no player deserved a rating higher than 6.5 when the final siren sounded, with Munster earning the top score in the Panthers great's books.

Alexander's view of the Australian team did not shy too far away from that of Queensland great Corey Parker's, who admitted he knew the Kangaroos were always going to win the 2025 Ashes series 3-nil.

Parker then questioned whether the English team is up to the same standard as some of the local teams fans watch week-in, week-out in the NRL.

"Call it how it is, we are going to win three-nil and we were always going to win three-nil," Parker said on SEN Breakfast with Vossy and Brandy.

"But if you played the Broncos, Panthers, Canberra, the Melbourne Storm ... would they beat the English side?"

Alexander was quick to interject with his response to that question. 

"Please, they'd beat them comfortably," he replied. 

A second question was then posed to Alexander: "Could they [the NRL teams named] beat the Australian side?"

"On their form from yesterday, yes, they would," the Penrith premiership-winner added.

"The Australian win over England - England's attack was horrid," he continued.

"It was sideways, they ran over the sideline. Australia were just better.

"I thought we defended well as a team because we were under pressure early, we didn't have much ball. However, our ball control was shocking. We made too many errors.

"If Cameron Munster was the best player for Australia, but I would've given him a six or a seven out of ten. When I thought (longer), no one else deserved to get more than that."

With England now no chance to claim victory in the series, it remains unclear if Kevin Walters will look to make several changes to his line-up or give those in the extended squad a chance to run out on English soil.

Those players that could be called up include Jacob Preston, Bradman Best and Mitch Moses. 

Given the data from the second Test, Alexander believes changes would be best for the team.

"Anybody who hasn't had a game probably deserves to have a go," he said.

"Maybe wheel them all in and make some changes because it doesn't matter."

Parker added: "You'd win everyday of the week, but that doesn't mean you hold your spot."

The final Test of the Ashes series will be played at 1.30am AEDT on Sunday at AMT Headingley Stadium, Leeds.