It was always going to be a hard slog for the Demons, travelling to Orange to take on two-time defending premiers Orange Tigers but they were never in the match as the home side recorded a 228-point victory.

The Dubbo side were further hampered by player unavailability and they didn't even manage to score one point in the second half of the match.

The scary thing for the rest of the competition is the fact Orange coach Nathan Pearce knows his side can do better, despite winning 42.15 (267) to 6.3 (39).

"It was good to have a win but for us it's about being brutal on ourselves and playing high quality football. We need to be critical of ourselves," Pearce explained.

The Orange coach could see positives and negatives across the field but was happy overall.

"The first half was fairly scrappy but it is round one. We addressed some of that stuff and we were able to rectify it in the second half," he said.

"We had a bit pre-season and our fitness, we had no one cramping up. That says to me that the fitness program has been a good thing."

The Tigers made a great start, booting eight goals in the first quarter to lead 8.4 (52) to 2.3 (15) at quarter-time.

They extended this to 19.5 (119) to 6.3 (39) at the main break.

The hosts lifted in the third quarter, scoring 11 goals and held Dubbo scoreless to create a 148-point buffer going into the final period.

In the last quarter, it was all Orange again as they kicked another 12 goals for the convincing win.

With 42 goals, Pearce described his forward line was potent.

"We kicked 42 goals and 15 behinds, so our accuracy in front of goals was really promising," he said.

"Tim Barry was great up front and kicked 13 goals. Dale Hunter kicked six goals."

Dubbo now need to regroup before they play their first match at South Dubbo Oval this weekend, against the Bathurst Bushrangers.