THE Cockburn Cougars' women have lost their two star players and the men will have even more responsibility shouldered by Gavin Field in a 2015 SBL season where they look to develop in both competitions and surprise some people.

The Cougars' men won the SBL championship in style in 2012 but now have failed to make the playoffs the past two seasons, and coming into 2015 have a new coach and will be without key players including Damien Scott, Rhys Vague, Seva Chan, Jaarod Holmes and Adam Nener.

Meanwhile, Cockburn's women's team will be without star trio Marita Payne, Sam Richards and Emma Pass as coach Deanna Smith enters her second year in charge after starting last season just as coach, but then when recovered from injury became a playing coach of some substance as well.

It does appear to be an uphill battle for both Cougars teams to make the playoffs in 2015, but each group does possess plenty of talent and if things fall their way, they could surprise some people.

The loss of Scott alone on the men's team as he joins the Willetton Tigers is a tough cover for Cockburn as he takes 22.9 points a game with him, and he has formed a tremendous partnership with Field, but it does open up opportunities for others.

Vague has also joined the East Perth Eagles and Chan has gone to the Kalamunda Eastern Suns, but new coach Matt Parsons has been able to make some signings as he takes over from championship-winning coach Stephen Charlton.

Najee Lane is on board as an import from the University of Clark Atlanta while championship winning co-captains Grant Davey and Sheldon McIntyre return, but the team is well and truly Field's now and he is capable of putting up MVP-calibre numbers in 2015.

Meanwhile, the Cougars' women will have their work cut out to replace their star performers, Richards and Payne.

That sees Cockburn lose a combined 28.5 points, 14.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game coming into 2015 and combined with the all-round contribution of Pass leaving as well as she pursues other avenues in life away from basketball, it's going to be tough to cover the loss of everything that trio provides.

However, with Smith continuing on as player-coach, and this time being able to play for the whole season, the Cougars naturally have one of the better players in the women's SBL.

And with Chelsea Evans and Taryn Priestly still on board, and a couple of handy new arrivals, the Cougars should still be able to cause some upsets and make a real nuisance of themselves throughout 2015.

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY
MEN

STEPHEN CHARLTON
Not gonna lie, this hurts. But any team that loses Scott, Chan, Holmes, Nener is going to struggle. They got back championship co captains in Davey and McIntyre, but the ledger is in the red on the above transactions just in pure numbers. They will have a new import to help out, and a group with McIntyre, Import, Van Lit, Prince, Davey and particularly Field has some potential, but they are small and will have depth issues. Coach Parsons will be investing a lot of time in the Cougs development this year as they hope to see the rewards down the road.

My Prediction: 14th

MATT CECINS
The Cougars have one of the best Australian players in the league in Gavin Field, however new coach Matt Parsons is faced with serious deficiencies in playing stock, especially at centre and power forward. The return of experienced campaigners Sheldon McIntyre, Alex Prince and Grant Davey will try to lead and pass on their experience to the next generation of Cougars.

My Prediction: 14th

CHRIS PIKE
New coach Matt Parsons has a big job to do to replace Steve Charlton and to try and get the Cougars back into the playoffs for the first time since winning the 2012 championship. The loss of Scott, Vague and Chan all hurt, but if Field can deliver an MVP season, they might still be hard to beat.

My Prediction: 14th

WOMEN

CRAIG MANSFIELD
Losses of Payne and Richards will hit this team huge, and who knows how many games Deanna will make herself available for. I really rate Priestley as a point guard and hopefully she has a big season. If they have another player or two coming in this team could finish higher than I predict, but if not I see very little legitimate WSBL talent on the roster.

My Prediction: 10th

MATT CECINS
The loss of Richards and Payne will be huge for the Cougars. Even with Smith, Priestly and Everard there are big questions surrounding the starting five, in particular who will start at centre and at power forward? The Cougars have a very young and inexperienced bench.

My Prediction: 12th

CHRIS PIKE
No Sam Richards, Marita Payne and Emma Pass means that the Cougars enter 2015 without their three best players from last year, but they will have Doccy for a full season on court as well as coaching. However, it looks an uphill battle for the Cougars.

My Prediction: 9th