Vic one-punch attacker appeal bid refused

A man jailed over a fatal one-punch attack on a young footballer in Melbourne has failed in his bid to appeal against his eight-year sentence.

Andrew William Lee in 2017 pleaded guilty to manslaughter after a year earlier striking 19-year-old Patrick Cronin outside the Windy Mile Hotel at Diamond Creek.

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday refused Lee's application to challenge the sentence.

He had wanted to appeal on the grounds the sentence was excessive, and the sentencing judge erred in assessing the seriousness of the offending and the need for specific deterrence.

But Justice Emilios Kyrou did not accept the grounds for appeal, and said there was no "reasonable prospect" the court would impose a lesser sentence.

Lee's lawyers previously compared his case with that of Richard Vincec, who also killed a man with a punch outside a Melbourne bar.

Vincec received the same jail sentence and non-parole period as Lee.

Peter Morrissey SC argued Vincec's punch was "calculated", whereas Lee was "just plainly not as bad".