He kicked his fourth halfway through the second term and although that would be where the winger-turned-forward's tally would finish, he couldn't have asked for a better send-off as his Tigers defeated the Demons in hot conditions in Dubbo, 13.9.87 - 7.10.52.

Orange kicked five goals in the opening term and nine to the long break, with the Demons unable to make repeat entries into their forward 50 as Joel Crosswell, Callan Hunt and the Tigers' defensive brigade were able to repel Dubbo's attacks.

Tigers coach Dale Hunter said he "couldn't have been happier for a better bloke to jump out of the blocks like that", and Welisara had lifted his side.

"He was up and about early and a guy who's so popular among the group, playing his last game you know the rest of the team's going to lift," Hunter said.

"That shows volume about the respect this guy's earned over the years."

Mark Mori was dominant in the ruck for the visitors, with midfielders able to pinpoint the likes of Tyson Hannus (two goals) and Andrew Nelson (four) inside 50.

Dubbo emerged after half-time 29 points down but with fire in their belly, gaining the balance in the midfield and stemming the Tigers' flow of forward 50 entries.

Inaccuracy in front of the sticks meant the Demons could only add one goal to their half-time total of four, but they kept the Tigers to just two points in the final term while having five shots of their own as they ran over the top of the reining premiers in the last 25 minutes.

Hunter said a mix of positional changes and giving less experienced players a run in different spots on the field contributed to the Tigers' last-quarter fade, but said the Demons also lifted.

"Dubbo being a proud team played the game out. They finished strongly and they would have wanted to finish that way," Hunter said.

"I know they were missing guys and it's never ideal when that happens. We've been in those positions this year."

However, Hunter said he was happy to see his side step up early.

"We really jumped out of the blocks and it's always a good sign for a coach to see your team on early and force the position," he said.

Meanwhile, Demons coach Shayne Wilesmith said the positive his side took out of the second half was the Demons they can match it with every side in the competition.

"A little bit of scoreboard pressure would have put more pressure on the Tigers," he said.

"We were terrible in front of goal but that's the way footy goes.

The half-time turnaround came down to one simple thing - effort.

"We spoke about effort, it's the individual things people do which roll up into a team effort and we were too worried about being accountable in defence," he said.

"We've got blokes in the forward line who can kick goals but we got in each other's way. In the games where we've lost, that's where it's let us down."

"We'll have a lapse of 10 minutes and they kick three or four goals. To arrest that momentum back takes so much effort."

The Tigers now have three weeks off, with next week's bye being followed by a competition-wide bye and the long weekend, while the Demons host Parkes.