A Queensland man convicted of killing a drug dealer who was stabbed in the neck with a samurai sword during a robbery is set for an early release.

Joshua Don Francis Wales did not deliver the fatal injury to marijuana dealer Tyrone Baynton in Mackay in November 2015, but was one of three men involved in the plot to violently rob him.

Wales armed himself with a pool cue while Mala Owen Geissler took the sword to Mr Baynton's home, while their friend Jeremy Abell kept watch.

Their attempts to break into the unit failed after Mr Baynton held shut his front door.

Geissler then thrust the sword through the door and into Mr Baynton's neck, with the wound so deep it penetrated his lung.