Bushrangers were preparing for a big tussle with the fellow unbeaten Demons - especially down on firepower in defence for their trip - but the Bathurst squad seized the initiative early and ran with it for the full four quarters to win 16-10-106 to 6-6-42.

Those defensive concerns never surfaced, and in fact the Bushrangers' defence ended up being a stronger asset for the Bushrangers than their attack in the top-of-the-table contest.

The Bathurst men caught the Demons off guard in the opening quarter to kick three goals while limiting the hosts to a single behind, before outscoring Dubbo four goals to two in the next term to really turn the screws.

Dubbo kicked four goals for the remainder of the match as they found some rhythm but the Bushrangers matched that effort and then some - hitting nine across the same timespan.

Bushrangers co-coach Matt Archer said a little more aggression in the centre of the park paid off.

"Our midfield got more attacking and were on the move this week. We've been wanting them to get forward a bit more and have trust in the back six to do their job, and they were able to do that," he said.

"We were able to win the midfield arm wrestle. We had to win that battle otherwise they'd be too hard to stop. We did that, and I think we forced a couple of their guys to move around as well. That was positive to see.

"We went in a little undermanned in the backline with a few key players out. Sam Kennedy played as a key defender, which we didn't think he would, but we had an early injury so he stepped up and he was exceptional.

"Andrew Knox was also exceptional. He also had a full game in the backline when he probably wasn't expecting it. Seeing a couple of our younger guys step up and play those roles was fantastic."

Making the win the more eye opening was that Archer believed his side were far from perfect with the ball in hand.

"I thought we turned the ball over way too much. There were a couple of times where we lost our composure and started kicking it to places where we told our guys not to kick it," he said.

"Our defence was good enough to hold them up and not let those turnovers become goals, which was a positive. In finals games that kind of thing might hurt you, but that was the only real negative to come out of this game and that's something that we'll work on."

Bushrangers will face Bathurst Giants for the third time this Saturday.