The former William Colenso College pupil's sporting career is the epitome of a battler, someone who raises the stakes when the odds are stacked up against him.
Consequently his guarded words of defiance won't come as a surprise to those who have followed his enviable march in a sport that neither enjoys the fiscal benefits nor time of day accorded to other popular codes.
"I'll be 36 when the next games [2020 Tokyo Olympics] come around but, hey, you can never say never although it's highly unlikely I'll be there."
He unsuspectingly borrows cricket's slogan of "anything can happen" on the proviso that people have the propensity to improve but on the flip side acknowledges a breed of younger players is emerging.
"I'm enjoying my career but it won't last forever."
It's that sort of spirit that coach Colin Batch and his selectors, as well as his predecessors, have no doubt recognised and duly rewarded.
McAleese, who made his debut against Pakistan at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, Malaysia, in 2005, has accrued 233 international caps.
He'll be the first to admit he isn't the type to catch the eye with any of the razzle-dazzle on the turf that has become the domain of those who display mastery in drag flicks and reverse switch hits.
Herein lies his sobering website advice to youngsters wanting to follow in his footprints to not only represent the country but professionalism.
"Worry about getting your basics right before all the flashy stuff. In the end, good basics will set you above the rest."
Frustratingly injuries have kept the resolute midfielder in check every time he has aspired to the apex of his sport.
He has had four debilitating shoulder reconstructions, not to mention broken fingers, torn ligaments and muscles and myriad injuries that'll drive fans to sift through pages of medical journals to make a modicum of sense out of them.
The latest reminder of how much an athlete is on borrowed time came in April at Ipoh, Merak, during the Azlan Shah tourney.
It also offers great insight on a bloke who isn't going to wait for the medics to rush out with a stretcher to scoop him off the turf.
"Three months ago I broke my rib clean in half but I managed to play the next game and there I broke a finger.
"But I got back right up from there and went straight into the plan for Rio. You do it because it's something you love so you have to find the will to get back up every time."
As far as McAleese is concerned no one ever said it was going to be easy but the Black Sticks will not die wondering in Rio.
In his third Olympics, he accepts it'll be tough and "you don't know what's around the corner".
Longevity has taught the player, known to his teammates as Buddha, to be circumspect about setting goals.
"We'll enjoy our first game against Australia and not look too far ahead simply because you can't do that," he says, previously acknowledging the Ockers are the toughest opposition he has faced in his career.
The 2010 Glasgow Commonwealth Games bronze medallist the Black Sticks are the "golden goose" of Rio, making the cut by default after South Africa withdrew.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) extended New Zealand Hockey an invitation in December last year on the grounds of the next best team not to automatically qualify from the FIH World League Semifinals.
That, he says, sits just fine with the Ryan Archibald-captained Kiwis who are hoping the "luck factor" will play into their hands amid complacency from rivals.
"We'll go there and shock a few teams so there's nothing to say we can't medal," says McAleese.
The Kiwis play Australia at 4.30am on Sunday, August 7 (NZ time) the final pool A game. They play Great Britain at 8am on Monday, Spain at 1am on Wednesday, Brazil at 10.30am on Thursday and then Belgium at 9am on Saturday, August 13.
