Dubbo Demons match the Bathurst Bushrangers early in their match before falling away late

After a strong first half performance, the Demons trailed by 18 points and were right in the match, until things went pear-shaped in the second half.

Bushrangers piled on 12 second half goals to win 17-15-117 to 3-8-26, keeping the Demons to just a solitary second half major.

Demons had recovered from some quick Bushrangers goals at the start of the match to bring the half-time deficit back to 36 to 18, and were forcing the unbeaten visitors to work hard for their goals.

From that point on Bushrangers began to run the Demons off the park.

Bushrangers captain Andrew James said perseverance and fitness were the keys to success.

"They were doing well to stick with us. We kicked a couple of quick goals to start the game but they fought back really well, and probably won the back end of the first quarter," he said.

"In the second quarter there was a lot of turned over footy, which made things go back and forth, but in the third and fourth quarter we ran over the top of them with our fitness.

"That's something that we've been pretty happy with. We've been going hard since pre-season."

Hugh Templeton had a big day out with six goals to his name - the biggest individual haul from a single game so far this senior men's tier one season.

"We talked about wanting to stay positive and celebrate the little wins on the field, plus we were more composed with the footy in our hands," James said.

"We didn't change the game plan up. Our composure and fitness won out in the end and that helped us run away with it.

"Adrian Hickey, who used to play for us and is in Dubbo now, was playing really well but then tweaked his hammy in the third quarter. He's a defensive anchor, so his loss really hurt them as well.

"The fact we've gone over to Dubbo with four or five players out, and still do what we did, is something that we're really happy with. It gives us something to build upon."

Earlier in the day, the women's side continued their unbeaten start to the season, downing a quality Cowra side in a tough match.

The Demons will be back on the road again this weekend to take on Orange in the men's Tier 1 competition while the reserve grade side is at home against Parkes.