But those who have stayed the course are finally seeing career-high dividends.
There's a case to be made that the Cowboys front-rower is arguably the most impactful interchange forward in the NRL right now, averaging 130m per game for Todd Payten's side.
"I had a great pre-season, came back, got fit and lost a whole bunch of weight," said Mikaele, whose side host Parramatta in Townsville on Friday.
"I lost around 10 kilos I reckon, and at times I still feel I need to move 10 more.
"I always knew I could play to this ability but it was about getting in the right shape for me.
"The last couple of years I probably wasn't in the right shape. I think this year - coming back and having the right mindset - it's really done wonders for my game."
Mikaele was tipped for great things as a teenager, winning Australian Schoolboys selection twice after coming out of the same Keebra Park High School which includes Payne Haas, Reece Walsh and Benji Marshall among its alumni.
But not everything in Mikaele's career has tracked upwards.
He debuted for Wests Tigers in 2019 before being moved on to Warrington in the Super League in 2022.
Mikaele played a solitary game for Gold Coast in 2023 and landed at the Cowboys a year later.
But it's only this year, aged 28, that he's beginning to reach his potential.
"At the back end of my Tigers stint, I probably didn't like playing anymore," Mikaele said.
"It (took) me until I got to England, where everything slowed down for me and I started to find some joy.
"I realised what I could do and I got a lot of confidence out of it.
"When I came back, I always knew I could play some good footy and I guess it's showing now."
Mikaele has soaked up the advice of Jason Taumalolo, who looks reborn in 2026 and will surpass Johnathan Thurston as the most-capped Cowboys player of all time when he chalks up game No.295 against the Eels on Friday.
Victory over Parramatta would give Payten's side a seventh win in eight games.
"I don't think it's a vintage year, I think it's just him," Mikaele said of Taumalolo.
"He's been at the top for so long and people seem to forget how he can play.
"I guess for us middles, us younger guys, he's an inspiration and the way he plays rubs off on us."
9°C