The Dubbo Demons have found form at the right time and captain-coach Mick Daly believes the confidence in the camp in the lead up to Sunday's minor semi-final is reward for those who have been there from the start.

"We've had a small group who have been sticking it out," he said.

"For that small group to show up each week and put in the effort at training, get beat and then turn up again I think that's a good show of character.

"It just shows if you put in the work you get the results."

The Demons recorded just two wins this season and sit at the foot of the ladder but still qualified for semis due to the Central West AFL only being a four-team competition.

Positively for the Demons though is the fact both of those wins have come in the past month and both have been against Sunday's opposition, the Cowra Blues.

The captain-coach said his side is in a good headspace heading into the match with the wins and a number of key players returning giving the Dubbo side every chance to keep their season alive.

"We were always going to be playing finals but the focus for us was to end the season with a bit of momentum," Daly said.

"We beat Cowra twice and hopefully all they can think about is those losses."

Charlie Maher, Julian Jeffrey and Sam Whalan all missed last week's win over the Blues but will be back for the trip to Cowra.

Combined with the fact Cowra are battling a number of injures, Dubbo head into the match with every chance of causing a shock result and Daly is delighted his key players are back on deck.

"You can count on them to inject themselves if we fall behind or the game gets tough because they've played a lot of footy and have got that experience we need," Daly said.

"They know how to speak out too, they're leaders."

The Blues are already well aware the Demons will be virtually full strength after Daly told them last week.

Despite defeating the Blues only a week ago, Daly said his side need to play better and he was hopeful the return of star player Maher would allow that.

"I put the cards on the table and gave them a bit of a scare," he said in relation to telling Cowra of Maher's return.

"They know how good Charlie is but we need to give him space because they're going to target him.

"We've played him in midfield but we'll play him up front so he's got a bit more space to run free."

First bounce on Sunday is at 2.30pm at Cowra's Mulyan Oval.