It's been a theme of the past few seasons in Central West AFL but after the Demons' first round success last Saturday Bathurst Giants captain Shaun Noyen and his team are on high alert.

The Demons took down hosts Orange Tigers in the opening clash of the season, announcing themselves as a force in the competition's top tier.

And now they get to return to the home turf against a Giants side hoping to bounce back from a loss to rivals Bathurst Bushrangers.

That's a daunting task for Noyen's men and the captain said the Demons command plenty of respect following the 22-point success at Orange.

"The enthusiasm is still up, it's just a matter of trying to get focused for the game against Dubbo because playing them up there is always going to be a tough game, no matter what," Noyen said.

"After what they did to Orange last week it looks like they've got a handy side up their sleeve.

"From what I've heard they've picked up a couple of handy players so they're sure to test us. Dubbo haven't normally travelled well but they've proved everyone wrong with what they did at Orange so either the Tigers aren't as strong or Dubbo's just dominating.

"They've got a couple of key midfielders who are quite strong. We have to lock them down. If they've also got those couple of taller players like they had last year then our shorter guys need to try and dominate them and stop them from getting the easy marks up forward."

Giants were right in the contest against the Bushrangers for the opening half of last weekend's derby.

Bushrangers started to utilise their possession much better over the final two quarters and that showed in the 37-point final margin.

But Giants did start to put a couple of things together in the later stages of the game and that's the football they'll look to carry across to Dubbo.

Noyen said there's already several lessons to take on board after just one game in the books.

"Later in the game we started going more man-on-man instead of just trying to go for the ball. That nullified them," he said.

"We marked up on their two targets they had in the midfield and we started to read the play better than they did."

Giants may get a player boost for the match.

Sam Sloan and Dylan Furnell could make their return from injury and provide a well-timed confidence lift for the Giants.

Noyen himself is the big uncertainty ahead of the trip after picking up an injury late in the clash against the Bushrangers.

"The only query at the moment is me because I busted up my calf. I haven't been to training yet but hopefully I'll be fit and ready to go for the game," he said.

"The day after I wasn't able to walk properly on my left leg so I knew things weren't looking good for me. At least I can walk around better now without any limping, so it's a process of taking it slow and getting prepared for the first bounce at Dubbo.

"It happened towards the end of the game. My body just couldn't keep up with the fitness. I'm not as young as I used to be so it was niggling the whole way."

Noyen is still geared up for the Dubbo trip regardless and is ready to lead from wherever he can.

He said the captaincy job has been made easier by the teammates around him.

"It' been cruisy. The boys have made it so easy for me," he said.

"We've got our leadership groups and our key players have been stepping up. I throw my voice in every once in a while and they basically control the rest of it."

First bounce at South Dubbo Oval will be Saturday 2.30pm.