A fired-up Tony Williams says he has a point to prove against North Queensland on Friday night, in what could be his final match for defending NRL premiers Manly.

Williams conceded on Tuesday that he needed to lift his game to a new level in the elimination semi-final, and he angrily refuted any suggestion he was being mismanaged by coach Geoff Toovey.

Critics have suggested that the giant second-rower needs to be used as an impact player off the bench, not playing the full 80 minutes as he’s currently doing, in order to get the best from him.

But it’s a theory that Williams disagrees with vehemently, and he says he alone is responsible for turning around his current form.

“Personally I reckon I can play a good 80 minutes. I don’t care what anyone says,” Williams told reporters on Tuesday.

“They say Toovey doesn’t use me well. It’s not Toovey’s fault.

“It’s all up to me. Only I can change that and I know I can do a good job there this weekend.”

In last year’s finals series, when the 23-year-old truly announced himself as Manly’s x-factor, Williams was playing 80 minutes a game under then-coach Des Hasler.

Toovey stood firmly by his use of Williams in the same way, pointing to his influence in the loss to Canterbury last week when he had a hand in both Manly tries.

“I think if you’ve got a player of Tony’s ability you have him on the field as long as you can, otherwise you miss those little opportunities that he created last week,” he said.

“If he’s not on there he doesn’t create them.”

And Williams, who will join Canterbury under Hasler in 2013, said he was fired up by the chance to hit back at critics this week.

“I need to prove a point here,” Williams said.

“I guess everyone’s been saying I haven’t been playing well.

“It’s up to me to change that and I’m looking forward to the challenge.

“… I’ve got high expectations this year and the lack of games I’ve played this year kind of impacted on that.

“I can’t have any excuses. I just need to get on there and do my best.

“… It’s do or die. I need to do my best and make sure we get to the next game.”