 Persistent injury problems forced him to miss the entire 2001 and 2002 seasons before returning in 2003 to play 11 games before being delisted at the end of the season.Selected by the Demons in the 2004 Pre-Season draft Read played 21 games in his first season for his new club but hamstring injuries struck again over the next two years and he was restricted to 8 games in 2005.Read reappeared in the Melbourne seniors midway through the 2006 season but remained a bit-part player for the rest of the year.