He and his troops were confident they’d give their grand final rivals a show, but upsetting the powerhouse South Coast eight would be a completely different story.

Upset South Coast they did though, emphatically.

Led by Kandos High’s Tyron Pennell and Orange High School’s Ben Cox, the two skips, Western’s fours produced outstanding performances in the decider to win one rink 25-8 and the other 14-7, claiming a 24-shot overall win and with it the 2017 state title.

“We gave ourselves a chance but realistically I wasn’t sure if we could beat [South Coast], particularly so convincingly,” Callaway, from Orange High as well, admitted.

“With two state players skipping their rinks they’re a pretty handy side, but our guys shot out of the blocks and kept the pressure on, South Coast dropped their heads a little bit and we were able to get a good win.

“I’m very pleased, we were pretty big underdogs but it was an awesome effort.”

On the back of the stunning state title win, four of Western’s aces earned selection in the NSWCHS as well.

Cox and Pennell retained their spots in the side from 2016, while Blayney’s Zac Farr and Nyngan’s Tim Walsh won state guernseys too.

While they may have missed NSW selection, Dubbo’s Jess Ball, OHS’ Reiss Robinson, Molong’s Leigh Brown and Peak Hill’s James Robinson were all superb across the three-day tournament.

In particular, Ball produced some clutch rolls in the gold medal match, earning a tip of the cap from Cox at one stage as well – the highest accolade a bowler can receive from their skip.

Pennell performed so well he claimed the player of the tournament gong too.

“Ben Cox was very good, Tyron was very good too,” Callaway said.

“Tim Walsh from Nyngan was great as well and so was Zac Farr from Blayney, but it was a really good team effort. They all played really well.

“(At this type of tournament) it’s about consistency, and having a solid eight as well. Some of the sides have some amazing players but might not be as strong in other areas.

“We’re not a side full of superstars but we’re a very steady eight and they played really well as a team.”

Consistency was certainly a trait Western possessed, the side went through the tournament unbeaten.

The red, green and whites topped their pool comfortably, beating out Sydney North, North Coast, North West and Sydney East to do so.

Western downed Sydney West 32-24 in the semi-final, before accounting for South Coast in the decider.

The victory backed up last year’s bronze medal, an improvement Callaway put down to this year’s side being almost identical to the 2016 squad.

“We only lost two players from that, so it was a similar side which has played together for a while,” he said.